Crayfish festival ignites summer gourmet feast in east China

Aerial photo taken on June 12, 2022 shows people enjoying crayfish dishes during an international crayfish festival in Xuyi County of Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

NANJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese food enthusiasts are all set for a seasonal culinary delight, as Xuyi, a county in east China's Jiangsu Province known as the "crayfish capital of China," inaugurates its annual crayfish festival on Wednesday.

The festival, which will run until mid-to-late August, features a variety of events aimed at promoting culinary consumption. "Crayfish is a must-have food every summer, and I came here specifically to enjoy the most authentic taste," said Huang Feng, a tourist visiting Xuyi.

Xuyi is a well-known crayfish production hub in China. Over 200,000 people are involved in the crayfish industry. Every summer, a single event during the festival serves several dozen tonnes of crayfish to over 10,000 foodies.

According to a research report on the development of Xuyi's crayfish industry, the county's annual crayfish processing capacity exceeds 40,000 tonnes. In 2023, the total output value of Xuyi's crayfish reached 30.6 billion yuan (about 4.2 billion U.S. dollars).

As one of the top sought-after local delicacies, an increasing number of food and travel bloggers pay special visits to Xuyi in summer to sample the famous dish after reading reviews online.

"Not only domestic influencers, many foreign vloggers also come here to savor our local delicacy," said Xu Qinghuai, who owns a night-market food stall in Xuyi.