They are both hairy crabs, so why are those from Yangcheng Lake more expensive? It’s really not a gimmick!

"Children, don't be greedy, after Laba, it's Chinese New Year." Laba Festival has passed, and the flavor of the New Year is getting stronger. Have you started preparing for the New Year? Chicken, duck, fish and meat, these must have been prepared, but what about seafood? For example: hairy crabs? Although now is not the best time to eat hairy crabs, many families will prepare them during the Chinese New Year. Some netizens asked, there are so many hairy crabs, why are the hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake the most expensive? Are the hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake tastier than other hairy crabs? Let's talk about it today.

Actually, there are two reasons: 1. Fame; 2. Small quantity.

01. Fame

The biggest advantage of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs is their fame. Often, the added value of fame cannot be measured. For example, is the price of Moutai really that high? But the price is just that. For the same mobile phone, the price of Apple is much higher, even though their value has not increased that much, but it is still the same.

Of course, this does not mean that Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs can be completely denied. Yangcheng Lake is located between the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake. The water flow in this place is relatively slow, so many nutrients will settle down, which provides sufficient nutrition sources for hairy crabs. The water level of Yangcheng Lake itself is relatively stable, and the fluctuation range in different seasons is not large. Under this circumstance, it is extremely beneficial for the habitat and survival of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. In this case, Yangcheng Lake has become a famous crab producing area, and gourmets from all walks of life have also gathered to give Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs a lot of good reviews. For example, Zhang Taiyan's wife, Ms. Tang Guoli, has a poem saying: "If Yangcheng crabs are not delicious, why would I live in Suzhou in this life!" and so on.

This is the source of its fame. Sufficient production and good enough reputation have enabled Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs to continue to develop, and finally become the most well-known brand of crabs.

02. Small quantity

Scarcity makes things valuable. This principle is well known to everyone. It is still true for Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. Before 2007, the area of ​​Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs raised in enclosures was 32,000 mu. Then the government began to clean up and demolished 8,000 mu. The biggest change was in 2016, when the government demolished 16,000 mu of enclosures at once.

Today, the area of ​​Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs farmed in enclosures is 8,000 mu, which is three quarters less. This has further pushed up the price of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

03. How superior are Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs?

But then again, if you insist on saying that Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are so superior, for example in terms of nutrition, then that is a bit of an over-interpretation. In fact, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are not even a species, at most they are just a small branch of hairy crabs, with the scientific name Chinese mitten crab E. sinensis. This kind of crab can be raised in many places. If you raise it in Yangcheng Lake, it is Yangcheng Lake hairy crab, if you raise it in Taihu Lake, it is Taihu hairy crab, and so on.

In recent years, with the development of industry, a lot of pollution has been caused. In fact, Yangcheng Lake has been severely polluted. According to local water quality monitoring, the water quality of Yangcheng Lake once dropped to Class IV water standard. What does this mean? This water quality is suitable for general industrial protection areas and recreational water areas where the human body does not directly contact. In other words, people will get sick if they drink it. You hairy crabs are magical tools, can you withstand this kind of water quality? ? ? What will happen if it is finally transferred to the human body? ? ?

Now, through great improvements, the "returning fishing to the lake" initiative has been implemented. The self-purification function of the water body has been restored, and the water quality has been improved to Class III water standards. In this case, the water quality has barely reached (but this water quality is still not suitable for direct drinking by humans)

On the other hand, some places in Jiangsu have better water quality and are becoming an important production area of ​​hairy crabs in recent years.

By the way, the annual production of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs is 1,200 tons, and the sales volume on Taobao alone exceeds this number, so, are the hairy crabs you eat really Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs???