Visit Shajing for oysters

Until Jan. 1, 2025, a 13-day Golden Oyster Festival is beckoning foodies in Shajing, Bao’an District.

The main venue at the picturesque Haoxiang Lake Park features a food fair, where over 100 local eateries and snack shops set up booths to sell mouthwatering food.

Competitions in shucking and cooking oysters are fun to watch, and there are also a craft fair and a pop science exhibition featuring aquatic life within the park.

The history of oyster farming in Shajing, Bao’an District dates back to the Song Dynasty. Being the earliest artificial oyster farming area in the world, Shajing is known as a “millennium oyster township.”

Since 2004, the Golden Oyster Festival has been held annually in Shajing, where visitors can taste fresh oysters cooked in various ways — grilled, steamed, marinated — while enjoying music, dance, poetry and exhibitions. The festival is set in December because the harvest season of this nutritious delicacy falls within the month.

Shenzhen Daily photographer Liu Xudong captures the excitement of this local food event.