Royal seal of approval for crabs
A woman holds up the crab king and queen for the cameras.
Crabs from Jiangxi Province — a male weighing 643.02 grams and a 425.6-gram female — were crowned “king and queen crabs” at a hairy crab competition in Shanghai on Thursday.
About 80 aqua farms around China had brought more than 2,000 crabs for this year’s competition, the 13th and the largest yet.
Organized by Shanghai Ocean University and Central Hotel Shanghai, judges evaluate crabs by size, weight, appearance and taste.
Hairy crabs are considered a delicacy in China, and they are at their best in autumn and early winter.
Wang Chenghui, a professor at Shanghai Ocean University, said the quality of hairy crabs was the best yet due to improved breeding technology, ecological breeding measures and favorable weather. He said the price of crabs was expected to be 30 percent lower that last year because of abundant supplies.
