In Zisiqiao Village, Zhejiang, snakes are not only wild animals, but also life companions and tools for villagers to get rich.

Here, Yang Hongchang, known as the "Snake King", is inseparable from the snake in his life and career.

This village is known as the first snake village in China, and more than 3 million snakes live here. Yang's story began in 1973, when he was so ill that he could barely work.

By going up the mountain to catch snakes to save himself, he not only cured his own illness, but also unexpectedly discovered the commercial value of snakes.

By 1989, he had brought the whole village together through snake farming, which turned the lives of the villagers upside down.

The illness set off, and the snake road was explored

Zisiqiao Village is located in Deqing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, a small village near the mountains and water.

The inhabitants of the village make a living from agriculture, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Yang Hongchang was born and raised in this place, and his family, like most villagers, did not live in a wealthy life.

Yang Hongchang's family is poor, and his parents rely on small fish ponds and thin fields to make ends meet, and the family's annual income is barely enough to make ends meet.

At that time, medical care was extremely limited, especially in remote villages like Zisiqiao.

When 21-year-old Yang Hongchang suddenly felt severe pain and stiffness in his body, the family's life was in dire straits.

After an initial examination at a humble village clinic, he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic condition capable of progressively curvading and stiffening the spine.

This news is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Yang Hongchang, who is a young man.

As his condition worsened, his body increasingly did not allow him to do farm work, which directly affected the family's financial resources.

Yang Hongchang, who could not afford to farm, began to try various methods to seek treatment, and his parents used up almost all their savings to take him around for medical treatment.

However, most doctors told him that it was an incurable disease and that the most he could do was to rely on medication to relieve his symptoms.

When all medical means seemed weak, Yang Hongchang's mood fell to the bottom. Just when he was about to give up, a chance chance changed his fate.

After learning about Yang Hongchang's condition, a passing Jianghu Langzhong proposed an unusual treatment method to him - the use of snake wine.

The old man told him that there were many wild poisonous snakes in the mountains behind Mogan Mountain, and that the locals often used snake wine to treat rheumatism and joint pain.

Although Yang Hongchang was skeptical of this non-traditional treatment, in a desperate situation, he decided to try it.

At the foot of Mogan Mountain is his hometown, where there are many snakes, but for ordinary people, catching poisonous snakes is fraught with danger.

Despite this, in desperation, Yang Hongchang decided to go up the mountain himself.

The first time he entered the mountain, he walked into the unknown jungle almost with fear. In order to cure his ailment, he overcame his fear of snakes and began to learn how to catch them.

At first, every time he entered the mountain, he was filled with great fear, and his mind was full of imagination of the harm that poisonous snakes might cause.

But as time passed, Yang Hongchang gradually became familiar with the movement of snakes in the mountains and forests.

He learned how to catch snakes safely and effectively, and began to take the snakes he caught home to use in making snake wine.

A few months later, the first snake wine he made was finally completed.

Despite his doubts, Yang Hongchang began to try to use these snake wines to treat his ailments.

As time passed, Yang Hongchang found that his pain had eased.

Although he knew that it was not a cure, it was enough for him to be able to relieve the pain.

This change made him even more convinced of the making of snake wine, and he began to go into the mountains to catch snakes more often.

This is Yang Hongchang's first "relationship" with snakes, and it is also the starting point for him to become the "snake king" in the future.

Try to raise snakes for the first time, and move forward in adversity

With the success of Yang Hongchang's snake wine and its remarkable disease mitigation effect, he began to consider changing snake hunting to a more sustainable snake farming practice.

The decision was based on his personal medical needs, but he soon realized that it could also be a path of financial benefit.

However, the process of transformation was far more difficult than he expected.

Yang Hongchang's first foray into snake farming began in 1976, when he bought hundreds of snake eggs in the hope of hatching them in his backyard.

For a novice who doesn't have any experience with snake farming, the process is fraught with uncertainty and risk.

He tried to simulate the natural ecology of snakes with simple tools and conditions, but due to a lack of professional knowledge and technical guidance, many snake eggs failed to hatch successfully due to poor incubation conditions.

In the end, only a small number of snake eggs hatched baby snakes, which was far less than he expected, and almost all of his investment was lost.

This defeat caused a small uproar in the village.

Many villagers have reservations about keeping snakes, believing that snakes are dangerous creatures and should not be kept as household birds.

When seeing that Yang Hongchang's first attempt ended in failure, many people even began to laugh at his efforts.

In the face of such social pressure and economic losses, Yang Hongchang's situation has become particularly difficult.

However, failure did not make Yang Hongchang give up.

Through his first snake farming experience, he gradually understood some of the key points in the snake breeding process, such as temperature control, humidity maintenance and proper feeding methods.

He began to gather more information on snake hatching and breeding, and tried to consult with snake experts in other places.

After months of studying and preparing, he decided to make a second attempt.

In 1980, Yang Hongchang bought a large number of snake eggs again, this time using a more scientific method to hatch them.

He uses a modified incubator with an automatic temperature and humidity control system to ensure a stable incubation environment.

In addition, he pays special attention to the placement and turning of snake eggs to simulate the incubation process under natural conditions.

The effort was finally successful. From thousands of snake eggs, the number of baby snakes that have successfully hatched has increased dramatically, with hatching reaching three-quarters of what is expected.

This success not only verified the effectiveness of Yang Hongchang's snake breeding method, but also accumulated valuable practical experience for him.

What's more, these small snakes have a high survival rate and a fast growth rate, and they will soon reach the standard of market sales.

With the gradual stabilization of the snake farming business, Yang Hongchang began to sell these snakes, mainly to the medicinal materials market in the surrounding area.

Snake meat, snake gall bladder and snake skin have a place in traditional Chinese medicine, and the demand is large and stable.

This new economic activity not only brought Yang Hongchang his first pot of gold, but also gradually changed the villagers' perception of snake farming.

His success not only earned him the title of "Snake King", but also opened up a new path of economic development for Zisiqiao Village.

The snake industry is prosperous, and the village is rich and the people are strong

With the success of Yang Hongchang's snake farming business, the snake farming industry in Zisiqiao Village has ushered in a stage of rapid development.

Yang Hongchang has not only succeeded in his own snake farming business, but he has also begun to work on promoting this breeding model to the entire village, so as to bring the whole village to prosperity.

In 1989, after confirming the feasibility and economic benefits of snake farming technology, Yang Hongchang began to expand the scale of snake farming.

He bought more snake eggs and optimized the breeding facilities and environment.

At the same time, he also began to solve the technical and market problems that he might encounter in the process of snake farming, such as how to prevent diseases, how to increase the growth rate of snakes, and how to open up a wider market.

One of the keys to success is that Yang Hongchang has introduced an efficient snake farming model.

Not only does he raise snakes himself, but he also encourages and helps other villagers get involved.

By organizing a training session on snake farming techniques, Yang Hongchang taught the villagers about snake farming, including snake species selection, breeding techniques, daily management and disease prevention.

As more and more villagers began to participate in snake farming, the overall economic situation of Zisiqiao Village has improved significantly. Snake farming has become one of the main sources of income for the village.

In particular, the local medicinal herb market has a strong demand for snake products, including snake meat, snake gall bladder and snake skin, etc., all of which have good market prices.

By selling these products, the villagers have seen a significant increase in their annual income.

The prosperity of snake farming has also led to the development of other related industries in the village.

For example, in order to support snake farming, some villagers have started to grow specific forage crops, while also developing small businesses related to the processing of snake products, such as snake meat processing factories and snakeskin product workshops.

The rise of these industries has further promoted the economic diversification of the village and increased the employment rate of the villagers.

At its peak, the scale of snake farming in Zisiqiao Village reached an astonishing level.

More than 80% of the families in the village are involved in snake farming, and the number of snakes raised exceeds 3 million.

The villagers breed not only non-venomous snake species, but also some venomous snakes with high economic value, such as bamboo leaf green and cobra. The venom of these venomous snakes is used in pharmaceutical research and the production of antivenom and has a high market value.

The success of snake farming has not only changed the economic landscape of Zisiqiao Village, but also greatly improved the quality of life of the villagers.

Expand internationally

With the vigorous development of the snake farming industry in Zisiqiao Village, Yang Hongchang's vision gradually expanded, and he began to consider how to transform the snake farming industry from a single breeding model to a more scientific and industrialized operation model.

In 1996, Yang Hongchang established Deqing Moganshan Snake Industry Co., Ltd., which marked the official march of his snake breeding business towards corporatization and industrialization.

The establishment of the company has further standardized and large-scale snake farming business, and at the same time, Yang Hongchang has also taken this opportunity to introduce modern enterprise management concepts and efficient production technology.

In order to improve snake breeding technology and expand the scale of production, Yang Hongchang cooperated with Zhejiang University to establish the Snake Research Institute, focusing on artificial breeding technology and biopharmaceutical research of rare snakes.

This institute not only provides the company with scientific breeding methods, but also promotes technological advancements in the field of snake pharmaceuticals.

The institute has successfully bred a variety of rare snake species, and conducted in-depth research on the medical use of snake venom, which has increased the added value of snake products.

In terms of internal management, Yang Hongchang implemented the model of "company + farmer", which not only brought a stable supply of snake resources to the company, but also guaranteed the income of villagers, and achieved a win-win situation between enterprises and farmers.

Faced with the success of the domestic market, Yang Hongchang was not satisfied with the status quo, and he began to set his sights on the international market.

In 2011, he obtained the "Enterprise Overseas Investment Certificate", which provided legal and policy support for his snake farming technology and products to enter the international market.

After obtaining the certificate, he quickly made contact with the Korean Jinding Co., Ltd. and successfully established a branch in Korea.

The establishment of the Korean branch was strongly supported by the local TV station and the agricultural department.

Soon after, Yang was invited by the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture to become a consultant on snake farming technology.

His snake farming technology is highly regarded in South Korea, which promotes technical exchanges and cooperation, and strengthens the ties between China and South Korea in the field of agricultural science and technology.

While promoting snake farming technology, Yang Hongchang also pays attention to ecological protection and sustainable development.

He realized that with the development of snake farming, the protection of wild snake resources is particularly important.

Through artificial breeding and scientific management, his company has effectively protected wild snake resources, while also improving the quality and production efficiency of snake products.

Snake King Yang Hongchang: Relying on raising snakes to earn 10 million a year, driving the whole village to raise snakes together, and the village is full of snakes

Yang Hongchang: Eating and living with snakes? The snake village raises 3 million snakes, and the income from snakes is nearly 10 million