The number of tourists traveling to Bacheng town in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, during the National Day holiday (Oct 1-7) hit a record high of 410,000. Xiefangyuan, the largest crab market in Bacheng, received more than 760,000 visitors, an increase of 20 percent compared with the same period last year.

According to Rong Wei, chairman of the Bacheng Yangcheng Lake Crab Association, Bacheng's crab market used to see bleak business during the National Day holiday because visitors from neighboring cities preferred to enjoy long-distance tours. This year, however, many of them chose to take short-distance tours due to traffic congestion on highways. Bacheng, with its convenient transportation and tasty crabs, became a top choice for visitors.

The peak days came on Oct 3, 4 and 5, with about 13,000 cars from other cities swarming into Bacheng each day.

The crab industry has become a pillar industry of Bacheng thanks to the town's efforts in water protection and optimization of marketing strategies. Bacheng now has a crab breeding area of 28,264 mu (over 1,884 hectares), five crab markets and more than 1,300 restaurants.