How Did This Small County in Northeast Fujian Become China's Seafood Sensation?

The Chinese palate's radar for umami shifts its coordinates with the seasons.

By summer, most of China's major seafood-producing regions enter a fishing moratorium, and the bold, vibrant flavors of seafood fade from dining tables. But Fujian is different—Lianjiang’s abalone, Putian’s clams, Quanzhou’s red crab, Xiamen’s white octopus, and Zhangzhou’s Dongsha clams take turns gracing the table year-round, delivering an unbroken stream of freshness.

Fishing boats returning to the harbor in Xiapu County.

Especially in Ningde’s Xiapu along eastern Fujian’s coast, even during the fishing ban, the intensity of umami continues to soar. You might not expect it, but the primary source of this rich flavor is seaweed.

Every May to June marks the peak harvest season for Xiapu seaweed. While fishermen elsewhere leisurely pass their moratorium, over 200,000 people in Xiapu are busy with seaweed cultivation on the tidal flats. Xiapu produces a third of China’s seaweed, earning its title as the "Seaweed Capital of China." Not only is the yield vast, but the texture is exceptionally tender, especially the young seaweed shoots—thin as cicada wings—perfect for cold salads on summer nights.

Harvested Xiapu seaweed drying on hillsides.

Why is Xiapu seaweed so exceptional? Focus on the vast tidal flats of eastern Fujian, and the answer is clear.

Sea cucumber, seaweed, nori, yellow croaker—

Anyone fond of landscape photography has surely heard of Xiapu in Ningde.

Ningde may not stand out much in Fujian, but it’s actually a vital seafood hub for the province and China. With 305 islands and 178 harbors, Ningde is a natural breeding ground for premium seafood. It’s home to China’s only inner-bay spawning ground for yellow croaker, and 8 out of every 10 yellow croakers in China come from Ningde.

Local nursery rhymes celebrate Ningde’s seafood bounty: "May brings octopus with thick legs, June brings razor clams with plump bellies... August brings dancing eels..."

Xiapu’s seafood is a cornerstone of Ningde’s offerings. With over 500 km of coastline—half of Ningde’s and an eighth of Fujian’s, the longest in the province—Xiapu boasts a maritime area of 29,592.6 sq km, 17 times its land area.

Xiapu has the largest tidal flats in China, stunningly scenic. At Shajiang, you’ll see bamboo poles studding the flats, arranged in an "S" shape stretching to the horizon.

Xiapu fishermen working the tidal flats for small catches.

Fishermen harvesting small seafood, growing nori, and drying seaweed are integral to Xiapu’s tidal landscapes. This has even spawned a local industry of paid photo ops—for just 20 yuan, you can snap postcard-perfect shots of Xiapu’s cultural scenery.

The tidal flats gift Xiapu not just beauty but year-round umami. Its waters host over 700 marine fish species and 200 tidal flat organisms. In spring, onion-oil mud snails are at their peak; summer brings oysters, clams, and razor clams, with Yantian clams, Yacheng razor clams, and Shatang razor clams as essential summer-night delicacies. Autumn fattens the crabs of Yacheng Bay and Qidu Port—simple salt-baking locks in their firm, sweet meat and rich, unforgettable roe.

Such abundance graces every Xiapu meal. Whether in thick soup, dingbianhu (rice noodle soup), stir-fried rice noodles, or dad biscuits, umami sneaks in effortlessly. A morning bowl of thick soup, brimming with tiny seafood, jolts you awake. Late-night stir-fried rice noodles, packed with seasonal seafood like shrimp, clams, and squid, reach a crescendo of Xiapu’s freshness.

In recent years, Xiapu has expanded its sea cucumber, seaweed, nori, and yellow croaker industries. Think sea cucumbers are only a northern specialty? Xiapu now produces a quarter of China’s total output since introducing seedlings from Shandong in 2003. Xiapu’s nori gained fame earlier—the first November harvest, jet-black and silky, reigns supreme in umami.

Sea cucumbers aren’t just a northern thing—Xiapu produces a quarter of China’s total!

With such seafood riches, what dish best represents Xiapu? Not fish from the sea nor shellfish from the flats, but Xiapu seaweed.

Every May and June, the theme of Xiapu, this small coastal town, is kelp. If you visit during this time, you'll find not only delicious seafood and stunning tidal flat scenery but also the bustling scenes of locals harvesting kelp.

Large-scale kelp farms in Xiapu County.

In the distant bay, fishing boats shuttle back and forth, busy with kelp. They first haul up ropes laden with 200-pound kelp, hanging them on bamboo poles above the water to dry under the sun. Once dried, boats equipped with cranes set out to collect the kelp in batches. Nearby hillsides are also overtaken by kelp, with freshly harvested strands neatly laid out to dry, forming vast dark patches from afar.

In the 1940s, fishermen in Sansha Town, Xiapu, began sporadically harvesting and cultivating kelp, making Xiapu the earliest county in southern China to do so. Growing kelp is no easy task—it involves daily toil on the tidal flats and racing against the sun during harvest to maximize drying time. After decades of maritime labor, Xiapu's kelp industry has steadily expanded. In 2022, its kelp yield reached about 200,000 tons, contributing nearly one-third of the nation's total production.

Scenes of kelp drying on Xiapu's tidal flats.

Why Xiapu? The answer lies in its uniquely favorable geographical conditions. Kelp demands a strict growing environment, and Xiapu's mild climate and gentle currents make it ideal. Additionally, influenced by its distinctive lake-like marine ecosystem, Xiapu's kelp farming cycle lasts just five months—one month shorter than in other regions. This allows earlier market entry and, due to the reduced growth period, results in a softer, more flavorful kelp.

Xiapu kelp drying under the sun.

At local seafood stalls, a single batch of kelp sprouts can inspire multiple dishes: simmered with scallops and abalone for soup, blanched and dressed as a cold salad, or stir-fried over high heat—all bursting with umami. Beyond Xiapu, kelp's culinary potential expands further. It can form the base for sukiyaki or oden, be added to mung bean soup for a cooling summer treat (a Cantonese favorite), or shredded and tossed with garlic as a refreshing late-night snack with drinks.

Fig. 1: Mung bean and kelp soup; Fig. 2: Cold-dressed kelp sprouts.

How is Xiapu helping China achieve "kelp freedom"?

With both high yield and premium quality, kelp—the "king of umami," rich in monosodium glutamate's key component—unfolds endless possibilities in Xiapu's hands. Nutritious Xiapu kelp also serves as feed for luxury ingredients like sea cucumbers and abalone. Beyond the kelp itself, its surface mucilage, carrageenan, is used to make pharmaceutical capsule coatings...

During peak harvest, Xiapu's fishermen labor tirelessly for kelp.

Kelp's diverse applications in Xiapu are a recent development. Initially, most locally produced kelp was sold as raw agricultural products, like sun-dried or salted kelp—low-effort but low-value. In local Chen Xiaoying's childhood memories, a year's kelp farming income was just 3,000 yuan, barely the price of a mobile phone.

Today, increased production has unlocked new possibilities: dried kelp, compressed mini-kelp, and kelp sprout industries are quietly thriving. Notably, compressed mini-kelp—rehydrated with hot water and tossed with seasoning—becomes an instant cold dish in minutes. Inspired by Fujian's white tea cakes, the machinery used to press mini-kelp was originally designed for tea compression.

In Xiapu, some harvested kelp is sent to factories for deep processing.

Visitors today will find not only busy fishermen on the tidal flats but also bustling kelp processing plants. Owners juggle quality checks and order fulfillment, while workers tirelessly slice, knot, bag, and seal kelp, delivering Xiapu's harvest to households nationwide.

These transformations are visible on e-commerce platforms like Pinduoduo. Xiapu's high-quality kelp has lured many post-90s locals back home to start businesses online. The platform's convenience has brought kelp—once limited to coastal markets—to inland provinces like Hunan and Guizhou, top buyers in entrepreneur Bian Hengbin's shop.

Xiapu's new-generation farmers livestreaming kelp sales online.

Now, during the busy harvest season, it's common for these farmers to ship 7,000-8,000 parcels daily via Pinduoduo. The frenzy isn't limited to Xiapu—in February, Pinduoduo launched the "Farm-to-Cloud Initiative," aiming to digitize 100 agricultural hubs nationwide.

Leveraging e-commerce for rural revitalization, platforms like Pinduoduo promise a future where more local delicacies—beyond Xiapu kelp—journey from villages to dinner tables across China.

Cover and featured image | Visual China Group

Uncredited images | Visual China Group