Ningyang county in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province has a long history in cricket breeding. The cricket-fighting tradition began in Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties, and flourished in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, and the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The event has been listed as a Shandong intangible cultural heritage.

Ningyang government currently has attached great importance to cricket breading industry and regarded it as a new economic growth point. Local government also established a R&D institute for cricket breading. Its crickets have been sold to foreign countries and regions including South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.