Crab tasting and chrysanthemum appreciation season opens
As the autumn breeze gently blows and the crabs grow plump, the vast sprawling chrysanthemums in Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province, are about to bloom, and the famous Xinghua hairy crabs will soon hit the tables of food connoisseurs.
Xinghua recently launched the 2024 Jiangsu · Xinghua Crab Tasting and Chrysanthemum Appreciation Tourism Season and cooked up a crab feast in Shanghai on Friday.
In the golden autumn season, the Xinghua Qianduo Chrysanthemum Scenic Area is like a huge palette, with chrysanthemums of different colors bursting into full bloom, presenting a beautiful spectacle of various hues.
During the tourism season, surrounded by chrysanthemums, people will be intoxicated in a fairyland while savoring the plump Xinghua hairy crabs and the refreshing flavors of water chestnuts, fish heads, and other local seasonal delicacies.
Cruising through the sea of flowers, they may also encounter the life and work scenes of local water towns.
Xinghua hairy crab has a jade-white, tender, and refreshing meat, and its crab roe is full and mellow, which is deemed as the best ingredient of crab cuisines by local chefs. In Shanghai, chefs from Xinghua set up a stove on stage and demonstrated the technique of crab roe buns and crab roe tofu soup using Xinghua hairy crabs as the main material.
A farmer's market was held in Jing'an District at the same time, featuring famous and quality agricultural products from Xinghua. There was also a "crab calligraphy" performance, combining Duotian farmers' painting and Xinghua crab fan elements.
As a famous historical and cultural city in Jiangsu, Xinghua boasts pristine ecological conditions and quite a number of tourist attractions such as the Lizhong Water Forest, Xinghua Ancient Street and the former residence of Zheng Xie (1693-1765), commonly known by his pseudonym Zheng Banqiao, a celebrated painter of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).