The markets are a hive of activity but without the constant, never ending efforts of a legion of workers, nothing would be done.
From skinning to cleaning, steaming, frying and cooking anything that grows, crawls, slithers, walks or flops about, this army of stall holders work from dawn till dusk.
Even more market pictures capture the endless hub of activity in the tiny side streets.
Colourful sweets are bagged up and ready for the hordes of children. I think these are sweet rice balls – traditional Chinese dessert eaten to celebrate the beginning of winter.
Golden and red good luck artifacts glimmer in the intense sunshine of a Chinatown side street.
Detailed ornate stone work can be seen around every corner.
Hard work moving anything in these hot, dirty streets.
There are pulses, grains and nuts of all shape, sizes and colours. Piled high, in plastic buckets, in bags, in barrels.
Below are just a selection of the types on offer, at a guess there are yellow peas, soya beans, black gram beans, adzuki, lima and more.
Bags of dried mushrooms are at least one of the more identifiable items to buy. This variety are Shiitake mushrooms.
Dried fishy delicacies are laid out with precision.
Dried shrimps are laid out in seemingly endless piles.
The small shrimps are dried under the sun for many days since they are so small that most Chinese tend not to cook them fresh, therefore the fisherman will dried them and packed them for selling.
Shrimp are usually cooked in soups, Chinese steamed cakes, stir fried with dishes and baked as side dishes.
Bits of chicken wait for hungry housewives to claim them while pulses, seeds and nuts wait to be transformed.
