Perched on a boat, a woman checked on the freshwater crabs at a breeding farm at Hongze Lake in Huai'an, in China's Jiangsu province, on Tuesday.

Hongze Lake is the fourth largest freshwater lake in China, and is known for its abundance of aquatic animals and plants. The Chinese mitten crab, also known as the hairy crab, is one of its most famous products.

The local government even holds an annual crab decorating contest in Huai'an as part of the lake's harvest festival, where hairy crabs are dressed up and judged in a fashion show. Drones are even used to carry the crabs to show them off.

In August, thousands of crabs and fish washed up dead on the lake, allegedly due to water pollution, with the deaths occurring right before the start of the harvest season.