Performing monkeys make money for villagers during CNY

A village in the Henan province in China is home to about 400 trained monkeys which are forced to perform tricky routines for money.

Monkey breeding, while illegal in China, has become a source of income for Baowan villagers who are unable to grow crops on their land, according to a report by the International Business Times.

The monkeys are bred in captivity at the village's Qilingang monkey farm, and then trained to perform acrobatic acts, throw knives, ride bicycles and solve basic mathematical problems.

Indeed, monkey trainers, some of whose families have been busking for generations, are taking advantage of the demand for performances during the Chinese New Year period, given that it is the Year of the Monkey.

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The International Business Times report also quoted 57-year-old Zhang Zijie, a trainer who coaches a 4-year-old macaque and keeps it leashed outside his home, as saying that his children's education "was completely paid for by money made from our monkey performances".

However, his children have chosen not to follow their father's footsteps. 

prabukm@sph.com.sg