The 12th Hangzhou Cricket Culture Festival was unveiled on Oct. 6 with six teams from Shangcheng District, Xiacheng District, Xihu District, Jianggan District, Xiaoshan District, and Huzhou joining the battle. The team of Xiaoshan District who participated in the challenge for the first time won the championship.

Cricket fighting is a hobby and gambling activity involving the battle of male crickets. It is a popular pastime in China and dates back more than 1,000 years to the Tang Dynasty.

Crickets fights are arranged according to weight class. In a fighting container, handlers stimulate their cricket's antennae using a straw stick, causing the crickets to become aggressive. When both crickets are sufficiently agitated, a divider separating the pair will be lifted, and the two crickets will begin the match. The loser is the cricket that first begins avoiding contact, runs away from the battle, stops chirping, or is thrown from the fighting container.

Many Hangzhou residents like to buy crickets and train them for cricket fighting. The tradition has seen its peak in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The Cricket Association of Hangzhou organizes the challenges every year.