Flying out of poverty with the help of cicadas

Zhang Shubiao, was formerly unemployed, when he discovered an opportunity in raising cicadas in East China's Shandong province.

Zhang got into the business just by chance. Though he had been laid-off, over the past six years, Zhang has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience to become an expert on breeding golden cicada, and is called the "king of raising cicada" in Yangxin county.

The cicada, whose voice marks summer's arrival, is a highly valued insect in Chinese culture and has even become a delicacy, since the Chinese believe that it only drinks juice from trees and eats no other "unclean" foods.

With Zhang's help, Yangxin has now become one of the biggest golden cicada markets in China, with a daily trading volume of up to 20 tons. For the future, Zhang hopes more breeding bases could be set up across the country, helping lift more people out of poverty.