It's great for me to taste crabs from my hometown in Beijing but it's even better to go back and eat crabs in a boat on Changdang Lake, where they come from. They are a favorite among gourmets in Jiangsu because of their plump meat and bright orange roe.
About 9 km southeast of Jintan, the 8,500-hectare Changdang Lake, connects with the Yangtze River in the north and Taihu Lake in the south, which is the third biggest lake in Jiangsu.
The last time I visited there was one autumn afternoon about 10 years ago. My parents, uncles and cousins drove to the shore and called a boat-restaurant. A motorboat took us to the center of the lake where several big house boats were floating.
We enjoyed the delicious crabs with yellow rice wine, the sun setting in the west, birds flying from the water, a gentle wind making ripples on the surface of the lake. What more do you need in life?
