The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), also known as big binding crab (大閘蟹) and Shanghai hairy crab (上海毛蟹), is actually a medium-sized burrowing-crab found in the coastal of eastern Asia from Korea in the north to the Fujian province of China in the south.

大閘蟹 spend most of their life in fresh water, but must return to the sea to breed. During their fourth or fifth year in late summer, the crustaceans migrate downstream, and attain sexual maturity in the tidal estuaries. After mating, the females continue seaward, overwintering in the deeper waters. They return to brackish water in the spring to hatch their eggs. After development as larvae, the juvenile crabs gradually move upstream into fresh water, thus completing the life cycle.
This species' distinguishing features are the dense patches of dark hair on its claws. The crab's body is the size of a human palm.

大閘蟹

Seasonal crab, also offered in Singapore & cost around SGD40=SGD60 per crab in most restaurants.

Imagine SGD(40-60) for that stupid small crab, worth or not?

On weekend while shop for groceries in NTUC, I saw them selling the live 大閘蟹 & while peeking at the 大閘蟹 :

aunty : smile at me

me : 大閘蟹 har?

aunty : yep, very cheap if u buy here n prepare yrself, stupid restaurants so ex

me : but i dunno how to prepare n choose leh

aunty : neh.. see (point to the cooking instruction), so easy

me : oh, so simple?

aunty : u choose n weight, select those heavy one lar, i one time eat 3 leh

me : oh.. okay

aunty : (look at her hubby - if u want, i choose 1 for you lar, ai mai?)

hmmph.. i think, think n think

aiseh.. jiak lar since i also never try this kinda 大閘蟹 before

NTUC selling SGD5.90 per crab (eat at restaurant, the price is x10)

okay friends, just click on the image for clearer pictures

n taste this kinda 大閘蟹, cheap2 lar...

Concerns have been raised that the population and origin of the crab may be affected because of overfishing of the species in the Yangtze River. Today Yangcheng Lake is the most famous area for the Chinese mitten crabs, however, the original species have been extirpated by the early 1990s. All you can find in Yangcheng Lake nowadays is a Japanese sub species that was introduced around year 2000. The crab meat is believed by the Chinese to have a "cooling" (yin) effect on the body. Chinese spend hundreds of yuan just to taste a small crab from that lake. Most of these are exported to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and high-profit foreign markets.

Responding to the spread of the crab to the West, businessmen have started seeing it as the new source of crab for supporting the huge appetite in China market. Due to crossbreeding with more robust Japanese varieties, the native species in Yangcheng Lake was already extinct. One proposed scheme involves importing unwanted crabs from Europe, where they are seen as a pest, to replenish local pure-bred stock.