Myanmar: Myanmar's Wildlife Trafficking Hotspot

Jun 17, 2014 | Sebastian Strangio, Al Jazeera
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Mong La, Myanmar - In the middle of Zhangji Restaurant stood the venue's main attraction: a long glass aquarium filled with Chinese rice wine and ginseng root.

There, eerily submerged in the brown liquid, was the skeleton of a tiger, its skull and backbone visible above the alcohol.

A small faucet was attached to the side of the tank, where waitresses poured out glasses for tables of Chinese tourists. The skin of another tiger was pinned to the wall above.

Tiger bone wine - or hugujiu, in Mandarin - has long been prized by wealthy Chinese, who believe it can stave off chills and improve circulation. Though the tonic has been banned for years in China, it is a common sight across the border in this small town in Myanmar.