A chef cooks crayfish at a restaurant in Xuyi, Jiangsu province, on March 8. WANG JIANMIN/XINHUA。

In the picturesque countryside of Xuyi county, Jiangsu province, the arrival of spring not only brings blossoming flowers and lush greenery but also heralds the season of fresh crayfish. As the sun warms the land, local farmers and fishermen eagerly prepare for the harvest of these delicious crustaceans.。

Workers sort buckets of crayfish cooking flavoring at a factory in Xuyi on 黑料不打烊soMarch 8. WANG CHUN/XINHUA。

A farmer throws a crayfish trap into a pond to harvest crayfish at the farm on March 8. QIAN XIANHUA/XINHUA。

Xuyi crayfish have 黑料吃瓜官網(wǎng)been honored with titles such as China's top 100 agricultural products and China's Geographical Indication Agricultural Products.。

A farmer works at a modern crayfish farm in Xuyi on March 8. WANG CHUN/XINHUA。

Focusing on the five key aspects of "seedlings, base building, processing, standardizing and branding", the entire crayfish industry chain in Xuyi has an annual total output exceeding 30 billion yuan ($4.15 billion).。

Farmers grow aquatic plants at a modern crayfish farm in Xuyi on March 8. GU JIHONG/XINHUA。

In recent years, Xuyi has vigorously developed the crayfish industry, with the county's crayfish aquaculture area reaching nearly 670,000 hectares. A total of 210,000 people are engaged in the crayfish industry, and it has become the major industry driving local rural vitalization.。

People enjoy crayfish dishes at a restaurant in Xuyi on March 8. YANG SUPING/XINHUA。

A worker processes flavoring paste for cooking crayfish at a factory in Xuyi on March 8. GU BINFU/XINHUA。