Beijing - A peasant in central China is recovering in hospital after uncorking a bottle of spirits containing what was supposed to be a dead, preserved snake, which promptly leapt out and bit him.

The shock for the man, named Li, came during his lunch break on Saturday when he opened the bottle in which the snake had been pickled for a year, the Beijing-based Xin Bao newspaper said on Tuesday.

Before he had a chance to even sample the drink, the snake sank its teeth into his neck, the paper said.

He was taken to a nearby hospital in Suizhou municipality but was not in danger.
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