Former crab farmer weeds out a fortune

While most farmers in Gaochun district in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, make a living breeding crabs, a popular delicacy in China, during the autumn months, Wang Guiya has made a fortune planting aquatic weeds that purify the water and feed the crustaceans.

Wang sell his plants for 30 yuan ($5) per kilogram. This year, he and his partners grew 240 hectares of aquatic weeds, which they expect to bring in more than 26 million yuan when sold.

Success didn't come easy, however. In 1999, Wang's wife divorced him after he ran up debt of 470,000 yuan breeding crabs and running other businesses.