A disturbing video of a venomous snake being stuffed into a bottle of alcohol to make traditional snake wine has been causing a sensation in China.
The video, believed to have been shot somewhere in southern part of the country, shows a middle-aged couple feeding a long snake into a clear, wide bottle filled with rice wine.
In the short clip, the snake squirms and writhes in an attempt to escape the inevitable, as the couple forcefully pushes it inside the bottle before ramming a stopper in as the lid.
The two-minute video has been viewed more than 340 million times since it appeared on qq.com, one of the largest news website in China, earlier this month.
Even while the snake was in the bottle, it could be seen wriggling inside as it drowns with bubbles floating from its mouth.
In a last-bid attempt to cling to life, it pushed its head to the top of the bottle, searching for air.
Eventually the snake becomes still, and the man taps the glass to ensure it is dead.
The identity of the couple is unknown.
The practice of snake wine-making is at least 2,700 years old, with the earliest records of snake wine consumption in China's Western Zhou Dynasty (1,046-771 BC).
Practitioners of Chinese medicine consider it to be an effective cure for many illnesses from short-sightedness to hair loss, and it is even believed to increase 'vitality' in men, according to the People's Daily Online.
The version of snake wine-making shown in the video is called steeping.
A venomous snake is soaked in alcohol for several months, and can have smaller snakes and herbs added in with it.
A snake's venom is denatured by the ethanol, meaning its proteins change shape and is rendered inactive.
The finished product is drunk in small shots or cups.
Snake wine can also be created by mixing the body fluids of a snake, such as blood or bile, with wine and consuming immediately.
This traditional beverage can be found in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia, as well as in China.
The Huaxi street night market - known as 'snake alley' - in Taipei, Taiwan, is renowned for its snake food and wine products.
Tourists can try snake delicacies such as wine, soup and the more exclusive snake penis.
(dailymail.co.uk)
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