Besides the White Spirit Festival, Chongming is also celebrating the Hairy Crab Festival at Mingzhu Lake and the First Chongming Sugar Sorghum Festival at Dongping National Forest Park.

Fresh-water hairy crabs are named from the hair on their claws. Chongming crabs are considered among the tastiest in China, along with Shengfang crabs in Baiyangdian Lake (Hebei Province) and the hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake (Jiangsu Province).

Chongming crab has a distinctive flavor. It has a small body, thin shell, delicate and fragrant flesh. Both males and females are popular in China and abroad. Males contain rich fat.

Crabs are nutritious; every 100 grams contain around 14 grams of protein, 130 milligrams of calcium, 145 milligrams of phosphorous, 6 grams of fat and other minerals. Each crab contains around 145 calories.

At the crab festival, visitors can catch crabs and taste local fish and crustaceans.

Sugar sorghum and syrup are also famous, and there's a festival to celebrate these sweets through October 30.

Other forest festival activities include a competition to design Chongming tourism souvenirs, forest survival games, a photography competition in the wetlands, an orange festival and cycling festival.

Biking around the scenic countryside is increasingly popular.

"The county uses the Chongming Forest Festival to promote Chongming's tourism industry and attract more visitors to the island for leisure," said Shen, director of the county tourism bureau.