mari yamada reports. >> reporter: this supermarket is in shanghai. live chickens have just hit the shelves for the first time in 2 1/2 months. many people have been waiting for this day. shoppers flock to buy the live chickens. >> translator: live chickens are much better, because they are fres fresh. >> reporter: during the bird flu epidemic, the world health organization suspected the markets selling live birds to be one of the roots of infection. to prevent the disease from spreading, shanghai city closed its live chicken markets. the number of infections declined. with concerns still remaining, we asked people in shanghai which they prefer, live chickens or prepacked meat. >> translator: live chickens. they're fresher and taste better. >> translator: i prefer live poultry. bird flu is over. we just have to be careful. >> reporter: of the 30 people we asked, 21 said they would buy live birds. during the ban, prepacked meat was sold instead of live chickens, but it wasn't well received by consumers. in the shanghai area, most people buy live chicke