Sihong Hairy Crab 泗洪大闸蟹
Sihong Hairy Crab is featured among the local specialties of Jiangsu.
Sihong Hairy Crab (泗洪大闸蟹) is the hairy crab raised in Sihong County (泗洪县) in Suqian (宿迁), on the west shore of Hongze Lake (洪泽湖) in the lower Huai River (淮河) basin. CCTV and Tide News both call the county "中国螃蟹之乡" (China's home of crabs), and Farmers' Daily (农民日报) calls the crab a national geographical-indication farm product.
Where it comes from
Sihong holds about 40 percent of the water of Hongze Lake, which Tide News (潮新闻) calls China's fourth-largest freshwater lake, and the county has many rivers, reservoirs and mudflats. Farmers' Daily reports that the county began farming hairy crabs in the 1980s, among the first in China to do so. At the 5,500-mu Sihong modern fishery (Bawang crab, 霸王蟹) demonstration zone, improved crab breeds such as "Changjiang" (长江系) and "Nuoya No. 1" (诺亚一号) are stocked.
In 2016 "Sihong hairy crab" was approved as a national geographical-indication trademark, and it shares the "Hongze Lake hairy crab" (洪泽湖大闸蟹) agricultural geographical indication. Technical rules for ecological farming under the trademark, covering pond conditions, farming, labelling and packaging, were issued in 2024. In 2023 Sihong held its harvest-opening ceremony on 22 September, and Tide News reported that the county's first Hongze Lake crabs reached the market in quantity ahead of those from Yangcheng Lake (阳澄湖).
Flavour and texture
Farmers' Daily sums up the crab in two sets of four words. Outside, it has a blue-green back, a white belly, golden claws and strong pincers; inside, rich roe, full yolk, fragrant meat and a slight sweetness.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.