Qianjiang Harvests Crayfish Year-Round for New Year Celebrations

On the eve of the Spring Festival, Ecological Crayfish City in Qianjiang, located in Central China's Hubei Province, is alive with activity as the community prepares for the festive celebrations.

"Dish is served!" exclaimed the waiter, as pots of braised and garlic crayfish were brought to eager diners. With a note of pride, the waiter proclaimed that fresh crayfish are now available year-round in Qianjiang.

Traditionally, local crayfish would enter hibernation after September, leaving restaurants to offer only frozen alternatives during the winter months. Now, thanks to innovative farming techniques, consumers can enjoy fresh, live crayfish even during the colder seasons.

Before dawn, at around 5 am, Luo Chuandai, a leading crayfish farmer from Bao'an village, began his workday alongside his team. Dressed in plastic suits and equipped with headlamps, they paddled boats into the pond to lift the net cages, which were secured with bamboo poles.

As they carefully raised the cages from the water, excited crayfish tumbled into the plastic boat. One by one, the net cages were collected until the sun began to rise, revealing that the 20 mu pond had yielded over 100 jin of crayfish.

Li Mingbo, the deputy director of the Hubei Crayfish Industry Technology Research Institute, observed the healthy crayfish and praised Luo's improved farming skills. Luo credited the enhancement to the technical guidance provided. Previously, workers faced up to six months without income, but now winter and early spring crayfish contribute 70 percent of their earnings.

Within the pond managed by Luo, a fence net divided the area into sections. Li pointed to a section designated for juvenile crayfish, indicating that by optimizing water quality and planting aquatic vegetation, they had created an environment conducive to winter spawning and growth.

Qianjiang has established itself as a key crayfish-producing region, with crayfish farming as an essential driver of local economic growth. Although winter farming is more complex, it yields greater returns than summer production. This has encouraged numerous farmers in the region to adopt winter farming methods.

In 2025, Qianjiang launched 120 demonstration sites for winter crayfish farming in rice fields, covering an impressive area of 5,000 mu. According to the China Crayfish Trading Center in Qianjiang, over 3,300 tons of crayfish were sold during last year's Spring Festival holiday, and sales are projected to increase by 10 percent this year due to advancements in farming techniques.