Although we ate primarily in restaurants, some specializing in food that was not only good but presented in very beautiful ways, we did have an opportunity to experience a “wet market” in Chongqing. Common throughout SE Asia and China, these markets are where locals go to buy fresh food: vegetables, fruit, meat, seafood,poultry, spices, herbs – you name it. There are plenty of modern supermarkets and malls, but, like farmers’ markets in the US, the wet markets not only supply fresh food but also support the local community.
An old wet market in Chongqing
Wet markets that include live wild species have become notorious as sources of zoonotic diseases such as the H5N1 avian flu, SARS and COVID19. Not all wet markets sell live animals and most that do so do not include wild or exotic animals. There are still enough of the latter, however, to cause concern and a recent call for global shutdown of these markets to prevent further zoonotic outbreaks.
Jconcetta's Journeys 