Although farmers in Jiaxing started to breed snails back in 1987, market demand was small and unsteady, with only a few restaurants placing orders. As a result, the industry grew at snail's pace. "The ...

Xu Qinsen and his wife used an iron spade to place lime into piles of soil in their yard, each end of which is enclosed by wooden frames. "We do this to give our snails enough calcium to grow," said ...