Welcome to Kunshan, the Hairy Crab Kingdom

Frantically trying to make last minute Christmas plans? Love indulging in hairy crab? Then you should definitely head to Yangcheng Lake in Kunshan – the true home of the hairy crab, one of the most famous delicacies in the country.

It’s now or never (or at least, until next year). Alas, hairy crab season comes to an end at the beginning of January, at which point much of Kunshan City's hungry visitors will be gone. But with a few weeks left in December, you still have some time to eat some of the best fresh water crabs in the world...

Getting there: From Shanghai, it’s a piece of cake. When we visited a few weeks ago, there seemed to be more Shanghai license plates on Kunshan’s roads than ones from Suzhou (Kunshan is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou).

Taking the train is incredibly convenient. Just a short, 20 minute ride away, you’ll hardly have enough time to even settle in your train seat. Round trip tickets from Shanghai to Kunshan are reasonable too – about RMB 40.

Catching crabs: Head over to Bacheng Town, which is northwest of Kunshan City and close to Yangcheng Lake. The area is filled with crab markets and restaurants, as well as coach buses bringing over hordes of visitors who are only in town to get their fill of crab.

The restaurants are huge. Most have three or four floors of private rooms, and each sits on part of Yangcheng Lake -- allowing them to conveniently catch and package up hairy crab on site.

Expect to pay somewhere between RMB 75 and 100 for one set of hairy crabs (one male, one female). Yum! You can also purchase as many crabs as you can carry -- the restaurants are good at preparing lots of takeout bags so you can enjoy these delicacies at home.

When you've had enough hairy crab: Of course, there's more to do and see in Kunshan than hairy crab. The picturesque watertowns in the area -- Qiandeng, Jinxi and the 1000 year old Zhouzhuang -- are must-see attractions. There are also three challenging golf courses to take a swing at.

And actually... there's more to eat. Kunshan is well known for its aozao noodles, which features thin noodles served in a fragrant soup, with fresh duck and fish served on top. It's extremely popular among locals: As a gift to families with a new baby, people often send over coupons for aozao noodles.

Stay:  Swissotel Kunshan, 387 Qianjin Zhong Lu, Kunshan. Tel: (512) 5788 5788. www.swissotel.com

Fairmont Yangcheng Lake, 668 West Ma’anshan Lu, Kunshan. Tel: (512) 5780 0888. www.fairmont.com