A view of aquaculture ponds in Changxing county, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

Huzhou's Changxing county recently made the list of the first batch of national aquaculture demonstration zones.

The list was released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Official statistics show that the area for aquatic breeding in Changxing currently stands at 73,500 mu (4,900 hectares). In 2020, the county produced 70,800 metric tons of aquatic products, generating 1.79 billion yuan ($275.38 million) in fishery economic output.

The aquatic products bred in Changxing are primarily freshwater shrimps, crabs and soft-shelled turtles.

The local government had in 2018 launched a campaign to promote the treatment of tail water in the aquaculture industry. 

Authorities have already completed water treatment for over 100,000-mu of aquaculture areas.

In addition, Changxing has explored breeding aquatic products in rice fields. Currently, the coverage of such rice fields in the county has reached 41,200 mu in total, according to official data.