Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, began this year's harvest season for its highly sought-after freshwater crabs at 10:00 am on September 25, as tourists and local residents eagerly awaited the delicacy.

On the lakeshore, two rows of refrigerated trucks were on standby to dispatch the mitten crabs to markets across the country. Multiple drones loaded with the crabs took off from the farming area, delivering them to restaurants across the city.

At the official netting ceremony, Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Crab Association released the 2024 edition of the traceability label for the crabs, a geographically indicated agricultural product in China. Each crab will be tagged with a unique label issued by the association, allowing consumers to verify its authenticity through the association's WeChat public account.

Chinese people have a custom of eating crabs in autumn when the meat is at its best. Crabs from Yangcheng Lake are regarded as a symbol of Suzhou. According to the association, the annual crab sales can reach around 4.5 billion yuan annually, driving the development of tourism, dining and logistics.