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Zhuhai
BusinessChina Business

Explainer | Jumbo oysters and double shell crabs: Zhuhai is a foodie’s paradise

  • Before Hengqin gave its name to one of China’s pilot free-trade zones, it was famous for its jumbo oysters
  • The city of two million is known particularly for its shellfish

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Doumen double shell crabs, a delicacy to be enjoyed in Zhuhai. Photo: Handout
Pearl Liu

Seafood plays an important role for Zhuhai’s two million residents. Sitting on an estuary where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea, the city – once known as “fishermen’s county” – has access to a wide variety of marine wildlife.

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The city ranks third among the nine Greater Bay Area cities in China’s Guangdong province in fishing – last year, it reported seafood sales of more than 7.4 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion). This month, the Guangdong Development and Reform Commission said that it will launch a three-year infrastructure plan to support the development of the Greater Bay Area and highlighted the set up of a smart marine ranch by 2023. Zhuhai will host this ranch with an investment of 2.5 billion yuan.

Zhuhai is known particularly for its shellfish, making it a foodie’s paradise. Here are some favourites and delicacies that you should not miss while in Zhuhai.

Hengqin oysters

Before Hengqin, an island in Zhuhai, gave its name to one of China’s pilot free-trade zones, it was famous for its jumbo oysters. It was initially inhabited by a few thousand people who made a living by raising the shellfish, a practice that can be traced back to the Song dynasty in the early 11th century.

These days, oyster farmers usually hunt eggs laid by adult oysters in the water and hatch them during winter. They then tie a bunch of small oysters on three metre long ropes and dip them into the sea, and let them be for about six months, usually between November and April, when they grow to become as big as your hand.

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These oysters are known for their mildly briny and earthy flavour, as well as their creamy white colour. They taste equally good when fried with ginger and shallots, and sometimes chillies, in traditional Chinese style, or when baked with cheese in a Western style or simply grilled on charcoal.

Doumen double shell crab

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