In the golden month of September, Helan County in Yinchuan, Ningxia is celebrating a bumper harvest of river crab. Farmers skillfully haul up their traps, revealing crabs with green shells, white bellies, golden claws and yellow-tufted legs. Prized for their rich, full roe and tomalley, these crabs increasingly attract buyers. Once boxed, they are shipped to regions like the Yangtze River Delta, reaching consumers' tables as early as the next day.
Helan County irrigates its saline-alkali crab ponds with Yellow River water, which is rich in minerals. Combined with the region's significant day-night temperature difference, this environment yields crabs with plump roe and firm, sweet and fresh meat. Building on this, the county also promotes integrated rice-crab farming and goji berry-fed crab farming. The rice paddies provide natural feed for the crabs, while the crabs help control pests and improve the soil, enabling dual use of the water and a double harvest in a single season. Additionally, the county promotes wide-ditch, deep-trough layouts and tailwater recycling systems, using aquaculture to remediate the saline-alkali land and thereby transforming once-abandoned, barren fields into a source of wealth.
This year, Helan County's river crab farming area covers an area of more than 1,000 hectares, with an expected output exceeding 1,100 tons and a production value reaching 165 million yuan (about US$23 million). The industry has become a key pillar for boosting agricultural efficiency and increasing farmers' incomes.