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#ChinaSeen Small crawfish, big leap: Chinese county's hi-tech agriculture From the rice paddies to dinner tables across the country, the crawfish from Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, is more than just a delicious snack — it is a driving engine of rural revitalization! The county established a digital agriculture base for crawfish industry with smart greenhouses, digital irrigation and online sales. The pivotal base covered an area of 1 million mu (around over 66,000 hectares) with a yearly output of 150,000 tons in 2025. The county also integrated breeding and processing with catering and tourism industries, involving more locals in the business chain. The economic impact of this modernization is indeed reflected in the numbers, with one in six locals part of the crawfish economy. The industry provided 32.5% of their disposable income in 2025. Beyond Xuyi, a broader wave of "Smart Agriculture" is taking over. From drone-led crop protection and intelligent greenhouses to the explosion of livestreaming e-commerce, the digital shift ensures that high-quality goods reach city consumers at fair prices while keeping the profits in the hands of the growers. According to the National Statistics Bureau, rural retail sales of consumer goods reached 1.71 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2026. (Photos via VCG)