the pet market!

After classes today, Matt, Sarah, Sunny & I went on an adventure in search of the bird, fish, and plant market. Did we hit the jackpot or what! We took the 55 bus down to Chunxi Rd, the most popular shopping street here in Chengdu. From the bus stop there, we walked for about 2 blocks in search of Qingshiqiao Market. Matt was hoping to buy some fish while we wanted a glimpse of what a pet market was like here in China. Not only were there shops and shops of fish of all kinds *some, I think, were obtained illegally...like baby puffers,* but there were stands selling puppies, squirrels, chipmunks, mini pigs, birds, turtles, snappers, crabs, snakes, and even chinchilas! I was thinking...how did they get some all the way to China? Anyways...it was quite the scene. :) I even found myself a Sharpei that I absolutely just fell in love with. However, despite all of the amazing animals we saw...the place was rather sad. Alot of the puppies were locked up in cages, some of the tanks looked like they needed to be cleaned, and there were places were you could see some of the dead animals. In one cage of chipmunks, there was one flipped onto its back...just lying there. Sometimes, it's hard to accept things as both awing and depressing...this place, well...yeah, it was both.