"310, 300, 290, 280, 270, 260......" The auctioneer rattles off a string of numbers within 3 seconds. The tourists crowding outside the iron railing barely have time to react when a single index finger quietly extends from the side. The auctioneer quickly looks up toward the buyer - this is the response meaning "you've got it." Then in another 3 seconds he fills out the triplicate auction slip, thump, thump, two stamps, presses the buyer's seal on it, and finally tears off the triplicate slip for the record. In less than 10 seconds, a basket of fish is sold just like that.
Ziguan Fishermen's Association New Market: Double First in the Nation
Noon every day is the busiest moment at the Keziliao Fish Market in Ziguan, Kaohsiung. Over ten thousand kilograms of fish come in and out for buying and selling here, amazing the tourists who click their tongues in wonder. After the Ziguan Fishermen's Association's new market was completed the year before last, it set two firsts: it introduced Taiwan, China's first HACCP system (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), overturning the general impression that fish markets are dirty and chaotic - no smoking, no betel nut chewing, and no fish ever touching the ground; and it pioneered the nation's first overlook platform, letting tourists watch the auction process from the second floor.
