Spectacular scene of a thousand people digging for seafood at low tide in Rizhao; tourists taste golden "sea cicadas," more precious than lobster

In Rizhao, Shandong, the low-tide foraging festival officially kicked off, with more than a thousand netizens from various places gathering at the Wanbao Coastal Scenic Area for a low-tide foraging competition, vying for the title of "King of Low-Tide Foraging." The largest "clam pot" was surrounded by crowds of food lovers, with fresh tender barbecue, fragrant pancakes, authentic Liangcheng dried shrimp, and even Rizhao's traditional handmade pancakes brought to the scene, letting foodies feast to their hearts' content. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

In the food-tasting area of the low-tide foraging festival, a kind of golden-colored seafood amazed the children. This is the "sea cicada," a type of slipper lobster, also known as haijieliu or haijieling (dialect), a specialty of Liangcheng Town in Rizhao, Shandong. It resembles a land cicada nymph, with a body divided into two sections, many legs, and a thin shell. It is mainly produced on the offshore beach near Anjia Village in Liangcheng Town, in a very small range, so its output is low, and it is precious because of its scarcity. After being pan-fried in a wok, the slipper lobster is incredibly crispy and exceptionally delicious, rich in minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and potassium, and its meat is more delicious than crab or lobster, making it extremely precious. In recent years its price has even approached that of lobster. It is said to reach over a hundred yuan per jin

After a brief opening ceremony, an army of a thousand people raking for clams, disregarding the icy seawater, took off their shoes and rushed into the water, staging a massive thousand-person "battle for fresh seafood." The picture shows tourists raking for clams in the seawater. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

Although the seawater was still a bit cold, it could not dampen people's enthusiasm in the slightest. A thousand tourists took off their shoes and socks and rushed toward the enthusiastic sea, carrying small red buckets and little shovels, bringing their children to the low-tide foraging area, and began working hard with their heads down. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

A young father, with his trouser legs rolled up, carried his child and waded through the water, preparing to go rake for clams. "We came to Rizhao during the holiday to see the sea as a family, and heard there was a low-tide foraging festival here, so we came over. The child is having a lot of fun too," said this devoted dad. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

Some clever tourists even found white plastic bags and wrapped them around their ankles to prevent seawater from soaking their shoes. Some netizens commented that you can tell at a glance they often forage at low tide, their gear is so complete. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

The tourists released shrimp fry into the sea, kicking off the low-tide foraging festival. "Releasing fry together with a thousand people, it's my first time participating, very awe-inspiring. The ocean is our precious natural resource, and this launching ceremony also teaches us not to endlessly take from nature, but to let the ecosystem develop cyclically. I think it's very meaningful and also very innovative." The novel launching ceremony was refreshing to the citizens present, who praised it one after another. Many children participated in a release activity for the first time and found it even more novel. (Photo from Dongfang IC)

The youngest member of this thousand-person low-tide foraging and shell-gathering "army" was only 2 years old, and the oldest was already over seventy. On the vast tidal flats after the tide receded, there was no distinction of age or social status; chasing the tide, even stepping barefoot on the sand, everyone enjoyed the low-tide foraging journey to the fullest. Everyone came away with a full harvest. (Photo from Dongfang IC)