Yangcheng Lake in Jiangsu province, renowned for producing China's best freshwater crabs, introduced intelligent logistics and blockchain technology this year to ensure freshness and authenticity of the seasonal delicacy.

It's a longtime custom for Chinese to eat crabs in autumn, when the meat is at its best, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the holidays that started with National Day on October 1.

The lake's palm-sized crabs have gained nationwide popularity.

Thanks to climate-controlled delivery, customers in 173 cities nationwide can now have fresh crabs in one or two days.

The traceability and anti-counterfeiting system allows buyers to track their purchase back through the production chain, including cultivation, processing, transportation, distribution and retailing.

This year's crab output from the lake is estimated at around 1,300 metric tons, nearly 200 tons fewer than last year.

At one of the breeding centers in Changzhou, crabs were fed deep-sea fish and raised in ponds with strict quality controls and abundant oxygen supplies.

The local agricultural department sends experts every year to train farmers to better apply environmental practices in the breeding process and to conduct quality tests.