More Than a Food Festival: A Case Study of Xuyi International ＂Lobster＂ Festival

10.6641/PICCFC.13.2013.13.02

Sidney C. H. Cheung

2013 中華飲食文化國際學術研討會論文集

第13屆（2013 / 10 / 20）

11 - 25

英文

This paper aims to explain the rise of crayfish eating in Xuyi, Jiangsu from the global perspectives of food product ion and consumption. The study of the lobster (technically, it is a kind of red swamp crayfish--Procambarus clarkii from Louisiana, USA) festival in Xuyi provides an interesting case showing the relevant transformations from a wild and exotic animal into a popular ingredient for local dish in the tourism development. Based on my recent fieldtrip to Xuyi, I found the rise of extensive crayfish farming only taken place since the late 1990s, and before that, all crayfish was caught from nearby rivers and farming areas. Regarding its origin and backgrounds of coming to China, P. clarkii was brought to Nanjing by Japanese in the 1930s though the reason is still unclear. Local people did not welcome it since it digs holes which drain water away from the rice paddies and eats crops and fishes without bringing any benefits to the community there. Therefore, for a long time, no one paid attention to it until the emergence of the dish called 'Xuyi Thirteen Spices Little lobster' did not appear until the early 1990s; yet its rapid growth in popularity was not limited to the Jiangsu area but extended to big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Together with the establishment of the Xuyi Lobster Museum in 2005 and the outdoor stadium with an audience capacity of 50,000, which is only used for the International Lobster Festival (Starting since 2001 as a local festival and was developed into an international one by inviting delegation from other countries to participate.), we can realize the positive support from the government in building up Xuyi as the nationwide famous city of crayfish or ＂little lobster.＂ However, I was told by some local people that there was a serious shortage of crayfish in terms of supply, and many of the crayfish consumed during the festival were actually transported from other areas; therefore, I suggest that this festival will be served as a show case of the changing agricultural development in today's rural China.