Hello duckies
- 12 years ago
Farmer Hong Mingshun and 5, 000 of his ducks take a trip through the streets of Taizhou in eastern China several times a year.
The 70-year-old and his army of quacking companions became an internet sensation when photos of their annual expedition went viral.
This time the ducks got an extra run when Hong re-enacted the event for Reuters.
It's a real traffic stopper but Hong says everyone benefits in the long-run.
SOUNDBITE: HONG MINGSHUN, FARMER, SAYING (Mandarin):
"The ducks will eat enough and won't be hungry after I walk them. This is to save feed. Also the duck eggs and duck meat will taste better if I raise them in a wild way."
Hong's been walking his ducks for decades.
Other road users who come across the spectacle don't seem to mind the minor inconvenience.
SOUNDBITE: MAO ZEXI, ROAD USER, SAYING (Mandarin):
"I think these ducks are quite orderly (THIS MAN SAYS). They move into one line and make way when vehicles and pedestrians come close. Vehicles don't make way for them, they make way for vehicles, it's very funny."
When the ducks have finished dinner Hong will take them home.
But the web-footed, web-famous flock will be back on the road later in the year when it's time once again to waddle en masse out of the farm gate.
Paul Chapman, Reuters
The 70-year-old and his army of quacking companions became an internet sensation when photos of their annual expedition went viral.
This time the ducks got an extra run when Hong re-enacted the event for Reuters.
It's a real traffic stopper but Hong says everyone benefits in the long-run.
SOUNDBITE: HONG MINGSHUN, FARMER, SAYING (Mandarin):
"The ducks will eat enough and won't be hungry after I walk them. This is to save feed. Also the duck eggs and duck meat will taste better if I raise them in a wild way."
Hong's been walking his ducks for decades.
Other road users who come across the spectacle don't seem to mind the minor inconvenience.
SOUNDBITE: MAO ZEXI, ROAD USER, SAYING (Mandarin):
"I think these ducks are quite orderly (THIS MAN SAYS). They move into one line and make way when vehicles and pedestrians come close. Vehicles don't make way for them, they make way for vehicles, it's very funny."
When the ducks have finished dinner Hong will take them home.
But the web-footed, web-famous flock will be back on the road later in the year when it's time once again to waddle en masse out of the farm gate.
Paul Chapman, Reuters