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A venomous snake that had spent three months pickling in a bottle suddenly woke up and bit a woman in China.

The bizarre incident took place in Harbin City in northern China, Yahoo Japan reports.

The woman, who has not been identified, rustled up the strange concoction known as shejiu in June.

It is widely consumed across Asia in the belief that serpent essence has healing properties.

A bout of joint pain led the woman to seek out the bottle, only to find it had run dry.

It was then, as she poured more alcohol into the bottle, that the viper began wiggling before it suddenly slithered out and sank its fangs into her finger.

The woman’s family rushed her to hospital.

She later told reporters: "Before the shejiu could have any effect on me I was sent to hospital for a snake bite".

Incredibly, it is thought incidents such as this are not that uncommon.

This is because snakes can enter a state of hibernation by lowering their metabolism - and serpents caught for shejiu have a chance of surviving as long as the container they are being pickled in is not airtight.