On an early summer morning, amid the shimmering green ripples and lush reeds of a pond in Alaer, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, “Crayfish Commander” Ma Chunhua was busy harvesting her crayfish to sell for the day. Seven years ago, the breeding stock for these crayfish were brought by Ma from Qianjiang, Hubei Province in central China, known as the country’s hometown of crayfish, all the way to the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Alaer is located on the banks of the Tarim River, China’s longest inland river, and adjacent to the Taklamakan Desert, the country’s largest desert. Raising crayfish in desert regions was then a completely unheard-of concept for local people, but Ma sensed an opportunity.
Once a local date farmer, she would often pass by these overlooked ponds with crystal-clear…
