Crayfish industry flourishes in E Chinas Jiangsu

This photo taken on March 27, 2026 shows a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)

Crayfish are pictured at a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 27, 2026. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)

A farmer catches crayfish at a breeding base in Huanghuatang Town of Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, in December 2025. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua)

Chefs show cooked crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 19, 2026. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Photo by Zhao Qirui/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 27, 2026 shows the production schedule written on a board outside a workshop of a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)

This photo taken on March 27, 2026 shows a breeding greenhouse of a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)

A chef cooks crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 19, 2026. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Photo by Zhao Qirui/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken in December 2025 shows a rice-crayfish co-culture field in Huanghuatang Town of Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua)

An employee inspects a crayfish larvae workshop at a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 27, 2026. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)

Crayfish are pictured at a modern agriculture demonstration base for Xuyi crayfish in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 27, 2026. A modern agriculture demonstration base for the Xuyi crayfish industry is located in Maba Town of Xuyi County, covering an area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares). With a total investment of 18 million yuan (about 2.639 million U.S. dollars), the demonstration base, formerly a rice-crayfish co-culture base, has been transformed into a seedling breeding center, a standardized rice-crayfish farming base, and a facility for digital agriculture and water-saving irrigation.

Xuyi's crayfish industry now features a complete industrial chain that covers breeding, farming, processing, dining, and cultural tourism. By 2025, the total farming area for crayfish in Xuyi County had expanded to 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares), achieving an annual output of 150,000 tonnes. (Xinhua/Cheng Li)