Chongming creates ecotourism duo with tangerines and crabs
Freshwater crabs “cool off” under photovoltaic panels, “surf” in the water cycle, and have a pleasant time walking, playing hide and seek, and even enjoying afternoon tea in the crab forest. The superior growth environment, coupled with careful breeding, makes Green Port freshwater crab a leader in the market.
The annual “Tangerine and Crab” Cultural Tourism Festival was unveiled at the National 3A Tourist Attraction - Green Port Scenic Area in Chongming on the evening of November 13, which also marked the beginning of the third crab season of the Shanghai Crab Harbor.
Chongming is located in the estuary of the Yangtze River, with special hydrological characteristics of saltwater and freshwater exchange. It has always been a good place for the breeding and offspring of freshwater crabs.
In recent years, Luhua Town has innovated low-carbon photovoltaic aquaculture models and strengthened the protection of “Chongming No.1” crab species in conjunction with the “Fishing, Light and Tourism” project.
Both freshwater crabs and tangerines are in season in Chongming amid the ongoing “Tangerine and Crab” Cultural Tourism Festival and the third crab season held in Luhua Town.
Currently, the adult crab aquaculture area covers about 200 hectares, accounting for nearly half of the adult crab aquaculture in Chongming, and laying a solid foundation for the development of the entire Chongming freshwater crab industry chain.
At the same time, by focusing on building the “Shanghai Crab Harbor” brand, Luhua Town continuously enhances the influence of its crab industry and promotes deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of breeding technology, the China Chongming freshwater crab has reached a large size and sufficient weight. The average weight of male crabs is more than 250 grams, and the average weight of female crabs is over 200 grams. Green shell and white belly, golden claw and yellow hair, creamy and plump, with tender and sweet meat.
The outdoor camp of crab harbor in Luhua Town has opened to the public, which is also the first water sports base in Chongming.
Here, tourists can experience fun water projects such as platform boats, canoes, and electric boats, and embark on a fantastic drifting experience.
Enjoying a crab feast on a canoe is a new trend of ecotourism in the island district of the city.
In addition to experiencing water sports, tourists can also enjoy delicious food on canoes, such as the unique “freshwater crab feast”.
With the support of Luhua Town, the camp has deeply integrated water sports, cuisine, and tourism, developed unique tourism products to attract more visitors, and established the brand of Luhua water sports.
Huang Chao, head of Luhua Town, told Shanghai Daily: “Water sports and crab feasts jointly inspire new vitality in ecotourism”.
Gu Yihui, Huang’s deputy, added: “The Yangtze Estuary where Chongming is located is home to Chinese hairy crabs".
“The unique natural resources and cultural environment created an exclusive area of ecotourism in the west end of Chongming Island.”
In addition to water crabs, tangerines are also a beautiful business card of Luhua Town. As one of the characteristic leading industries of Luhua agriculture, tangerines have a planting history of over 30 years in Luhua.
With the vigorous development of modern new agriculture, there are not only traditional varieties but also new and superior varieties in Luhua. This time, Luhua Town has collaborated with the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts to create a Luhua tangerine IP, creating a mascot image for the characteristic tangerines of Luhua, together with the Luhua freshwater crabs.
