NANJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Twenty crab boats set sail on Yangcheng Lake, which is known for producing China's best freshwater crabs, on Saturday marking the start of the year's crab season.
Crab is considered a must for family dinners at Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Oct. 4 this year.
The Yangcheng Lake crab market in Suzhou city, eastern China's Jiangsu Province, is full of festive air as buyers swarm to the docks ready to greet the returning boats.
Ma Gang, deputy head of the agricultural department in Suzhou, said that this year's crabs from the lake were estimated at 1,200 tonnes.
He said this year the city government ordered a reduction of the crab farming area by half to 1,066 hectares to ensure the water quality.
"The Yangcheng crabs can be much bigger than before," he said.
Crab traders said this year's crab price would be more than 15 percent higher than before. The whole-sale price for female crabs that have roe is set at 200 yuan (30 U.S. dollars) per 500 grams.
Chinese people have a customs of eating crabs in the autumn, when the meat is at its best. The tradition can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (B.C. 202-220).
Crab is considered auspicious as the Chinese pronunciation of crab is "Xie," the same as thanks.
