Crabs in buckets, business on budget

"Crabs and beer are God's way of saying he loves us and wants us to be happy." That is the slogan of a recent advertisement by an online crab-trading business. Certainly, both mitten crab producers and traders in the Yangcheng Lake area in East China's Jiangsu province and Panjin in Northeast China's Liaoning province enjoy the benefits of China's huge demand for the delicacy during the mid-autumn season. Crab farmers and dealers witnessed robust business growth this year.

If there is a guarantee that crabs traded in Yangcheng Lake are authentic, I am sure my impression about the location would be even better.

The freshwater lake is in northeast Suzhou in Jiangsu province. The hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake are known as the best of their type in China because of the good living environment. When I was a child, I always heard parents talking about how delicious the crabs from there were.

During this National Day holiday, I visited the lake with some of my friends for the first time.

It's about a 90-minute drive from Shanghai. Our destination was Lianhua Island, a crab trading and tasting destination close to Yangchenghu county. The signs on the highway were clear enough to direct us.

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There are many crab tasting destinations around the lake, the most famous being Bacheng township, Weiting township and Lianhua Island.

On our way, I saw many small ponds on both sides of the highway. Local people said they were breeding bases for the crabs. Upon inquiry I was informed the crustaceans could not be called Yangcheng Lake crabs, even though they are in the vicinity of the famous stretch of water.

I was impressed by the popularity of Yangcheng Lake crabs (also known as Yangchenghu crabs) among gourmands. We saw many cars from outside Suzhou parked outside restaurants at lunch time. I was told that visitors from Shanghai, Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province are the biggest customers for Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

I planned to bring some crabs back for relatives in Shanghai. However, after visiting several stores and comparing crab prices, I was confused.

There are hundreds of restaurants that offer so called Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. Some are very expensive while others are very cheap.

There are also hundreds of vendors standing on both sides of the road claiming their crabs are authentic. Some crabs traded in the market have a ring attached on their claws declaring their authenticity, while others don't. Some vendors offered discounts for bulk purchases.

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As an ordinary customer without much experience in buying crabs, I had difficulties in identifying which ones were authentic. There is one thing I am sure of, many people like me visiting Yangcheng Lake for the first time would have a similar problem.

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Yang Weilong, the chairman of Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Crab Association, said the annual output of crabs is around 2,000 tons. They are distributed nationwide. It's hard to know whether the supply can meet the demand.

"I am sure there are falsely labeled Yangchenghu crabs in the market," said Zhang Yiwen, my companion.

In the end I returned home empty handed because I did not want to be cheated.

As a potential customer, I believe if the authorities do not clamp down on fake products entering the market, there will be a detrimental effect on the reputation of Yangcheng Lake crabs.

Contact the writer at tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn