Beautuful scenes of the red wetland in Panjin.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Unlike the best-known hairy crabs in China, which are raised in Suzhou's Yangcheng Lake, crabs in Panjin are raised in the rice paddies.

Although shadowed by the popularity of crabs from Yangcheng Lake, crabs from Panjin have their own advantages, such as early maturing and a unique taste. The height of the crab harvest in Panjin usually comes 45 days earlier than those of Yangcheng Lake.

Because the number of freshwater ponds that can be used for crab cultivation is limited, a local aquaculture expert developed a technique to raise crabs in rice paddies in the 1990s.

The new technique creates an eco-win-win situation by combining planting with breeding. Waste and the carbon dioxide crabs expel provide invaluable nutrients for rice seedlings. Meanwhile, plants and pests in the rice fields provide the crabs with a constant supply of food and shade.

The crab-rice farming model has been promoted in Panjin and has enhanced local farmers' income from higher output compared with the traditional farming in freshwater ponds.