Hairy crabs harvested on Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou

A ceremony was held in Suzhou’s Bacheng on Friday morning for the harvest of the first batch of hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake, ushering in the annual season for tasting the freshwater crustaceans that usually extends through mid-December.

According to Yao Shuisheng, a publicity official for the Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Crab Association, the size of the crabs – Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis – harvested this year will be bigger than last year.

But because of rising costs and the same yield as last year, the price of the delicacy is expected to be higher this year.