Without doubt an acquired taste, but one attracting growing hoards of devoted diners, fried golden cicadas are a growing fad in many a street-food stall across much of the nation, out of their “hometown” right here in our very own Jiangsu Province.
毫无疑问，炸金蝉是一种后天习得的口味，但也吸引着越来越多的忠实食客，炸金蝉在全国大部分地区的许多街头小吃摊上越来越流行，而它的“家乡”就在我们江苏省。
Welcome to Lulou Town in Pei County of Xuzhou City in Jiangsu, the so-called “Golden Cicada Town”. Here, many villagers have grown rich in recent years by breeding golden cicadas, with local cooperatives able to make annual sales of up to 20 million branches, into which female cicadas have injected 20 to 30 eggs each.
欢迎来到素有“金蝉之乡”之称的江苏徐州市沛县卢楼镇。这里，近年来不少村民靠养殖金蝉致富，当地合作社年销售金蝉可达2000万枝，每只雌蝉产卵20至30枚。
A lady by the name of Wang Man heads up a cicada breeding cooperative in Peixian. Speaking to a Purple Cow News reporter, she said, “Each egg branch sells for ¥0.3; the number of cicada eggs in the egg branch is between 100 and 400, and the survival rate is about 20 percent”.
沛县一家蝉养殖合作社的负责人王曼女士。她告诉紫牛新闻记者，“每个蛋枝售价0.3元，蛋枝里的蝉蛋数量在100到400枚之间，成活率在20%左右”。
Wang also said that in addition to selling cicadas in Xuzhou, they have found a market for them in Shandong, Henan, Anhui and other places. In Nanjing, golden cicadas are to be found in many night markets, with some barbecue stalls able to sell hundreds of skewers a night.
王还说，除了徐州卖蝉，他们还在山东、河南、安徽等地找到了销路。在南京，很多夜市都可以看到金蝉，有的烧烤摊一晚上能卖上百串。
But why Lulou Town? There, fully 70 percent of the land is sandy soil, ideal for breeding golden cicadas. Add a dab of local entrepreneurialism and Lulou Town of Peixian has become the largest-golden-cicada-breeding area nationwide.
但为什么是卢楼镇呢？那里百分之七十的土地都是沙土，非常适合金蝉的繁殖。再加上当地的创业精神，沛县卢楼镇已成为全国最大的金蝉养殖区。
Some seniors in their 70s and 80s even breed golden cicadas around the trees in front of their homes, reports The Paper.
据澎湃新闻报道，一些70多岁、80多岁的老人甚至在自家门前的树上养金蝉。
A Mr. Zhu, 59, of Dazhuji Village in Lulou, is also invested in the cicada breeding business. On 10 June, he headed out on an electric tricycle to buy 13,000 cicada egg branches. This will be his 6th year of breeding golden cicadas. Zhu has 2,700 square metres of land and boasts of 300 trees, under which he breeds the cicadas. “The management method is very simple. You just need to sprinkle some water on the branches regularly”, he said.
卢楼大竹集村59岁的朱先生也投资蝉养殖业。 6月10日，他骑着电动三轮车前往购买1.3万根蝉蛋枝。今年是他饲养金蝉的第六个年头。朱先生拥有2700平方米的土地，拥有300棵树，他在树下养蝉。 “管理方法很简单，只需定期在树枝上洒点水即可。”他说。
Zhu claims that in recent years, he and his family have been able to catch three to four thousand cicadas in one night. On his outlay of ¥3,900, Zhu figures he can bring in ¥60,000 this year.
朱先生称，近年来，他和家人一晚上能抓到三四千只蝉。朱先生预计，以 3,900 元的支出，今年他可以收入 6 万元。
Back in Nanjing, reporters visited a night-market barbecue stall near Nanjing University of Technology. There, on sale were delicacies including golden cicadas (¥8 per skewer), silkworms (¥6 per skewer) and grasshoppers (¥4 per skewer).
回到南京，记者走访了南京工业大学附近的一家夜市烧烤摊。那里出售金蝉（8元/串）、蚕（6元/串）、蚱蜢（4元/串）等美食。
Xiao Liu, a girl from Xuzhou in her early 20s, was one of the night market’s customers. A senior student in Nanjing, she bought two golden cicada skewers. “When I was young, I often went with my father to catch golden cicadas. After school, I seldom went straight home. I especially miss the taste of them in my hometown”, she said.
20岁出头的徐州女孩小刘是夜市的顾客之一。南京的一名大四学生，她买了两根金蝉串。 “小时候，我经常跟着爸爸去捉金蝉，放学后很少直接回家，特别想念家乡金蝉的味道。”她说。
The months of June and July define the golden cicada harvest season. But what is driving the increasing popularity of eating a beast that many would find repulsive? Those golden cicadas are rich in protein, low in fat and, it is said, quite delicious in taste.
六月和七月是金蝉收获的季节。但是，是什么让人们越来越喜欢吃许多人认为令人厌恶的野兽呢？这些金蝉富含蛋白质，脂肪含量低，据说味道鲜美。
