Golden autumn crab season begins in Chenjia Town. On the morning of November 5, the 2024 Chongming Hairy Crab Harvest Festival and Chenjia Town Crab Culture Festival kicked off at the "Chongming No. 1" breeding base, marking the official start of the 2024 Chongming hairy crab harvest.

At the sound of drums, crabs were simultaneously harvested from five bases: the "Chongming No. 1" breeding base, Island Crab Farm, Huikang Aquaculture Cooperative, Chongdong Aquaculture Cooperative, and Yuhaitang Hairy Crab Eco-Lake.

The "Chongming No. 1" river crab breeding base covers about 220 mu and is the parent breeding base for the new hairy crab strain "Chongming No. 1." Workers rowed small boats, lifting nets to harvest crabs, which were plump and lively. These freshly caught "long-legged" pure water crabs were robust and vigorous.

Guan Bangchao, deputy director of the Chongming District Agricultural and Rural Commission, said that this year marks the market debut of the "Chongming No. 1" pure water crabs. Over 60% of the crabs are over 250 grams per mu, showing an increase compared to previous years, highlighting the advantages of the breeding stock.

Chongming's unique geographical, climatic, hydrological, and soil conditions make it an ideal breeding ground for Chinese mitten crabs of the Yangtze River. In recent years, Chongming has leveraged its ecological advantages to actively develop agricultural industrialization alliances and deepen cooperation with Shanghai Ocean University. Pure water crab is one of Chongming's most distinctive industries. In 2022, Chongming and Shanghai Ocean University developed the new river crab strain "Chongming No. 1," characterized by faster growth, higher yields, and larger sizes. That same year, the Chongming River Crab Group Company was established, promoting standardized production, integrated production and marketing, branded marketing, and multi-industry integration, advancing the Chongming pure water crab industry towards a new path of technological, quality, green, and brand-driven development. By 2024, Chongming successfully bred 10,000 kilograms of "Chongming No. 1" crab seedlings, stocking 5,000 mu of ponds in the district and extending to over 50,000 mu nationwide.

Following the harvest ceremony, a comprehensive evaluation competition for Chongming pure water crabs took place. Crabs submitted by various units were judged by an expert panel, with the "Crab King" weighing 516 grams and the "Crab Queen" weighing 405 grams.

The bustling food market featured crab roe dumplings, crab roe steamed eggs, Chongming cake, Chongming white goat, Chongming cloth, and Chongming rice wine, attracting many visitors to taste.

On the same day, a technical seminar on "Chongming No. 1" pure water crabs was held, where industry experts engaged in in-depth discussions on "raising crabs, making crabs, and tasting crabs," exploring the rich connotations of crab culture. Outside the main venue, ten cultural and tourism sub-venues integrated the entire industry chain with homestays, culture, sports, and tourism, promoting high-quality development of the agricultural, cultural, sports, and tourism industries.

Shi Yang, deputy Party secretary and mayor of Chenjia Town, stated, "The most important aspect of rural revitalization is industry. With industry, villages gain vitality and confidence. We use 'crabs' as a medium to actively promote the integration of ecological sightseeing agriculture and rural tourism. In Chongming, you can not only taste 'a crab' but also see 'a flock of birds' in Dongtan and 'a fish' at the Chinese sturgeon base. We aim to create an 'agricultural, cultural, and tourism integrated' ecological agricultural complex that empowers rural revitalization, inviting more people to visit Chongming and Chenjia Town to savor the freshness of crabs and enjoy the harvest scenery."

During the Crab Culture Festival, Chenjia Town will also launch a special crab tasting and sightseeing week, offering creative cultural and tourism routes. Citizens and tourists can participate in activities such as DIY crab shell art, crab tying and untying competitions, creative cooking workshops, fishing games, and photography contests, experiencing the unique beauty and cultural charm of Chenjia Town's harvest.