Golden cicada cultivation brings wealth to town in E China's Jiangsu

The cultivation of golden cicadas, a delicacy for many, has become an important source of income for residents of Lulou town, Peixian county, Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.

From May to July, catching golden cicadas at night is part of daily life for locals. Jia Baolei, head of a local cicada farming base, said the base has expanded to over 720 mu (48 hectares), doubling in size since his father founded it in 2018 with just 360 mu.

A villager catches golden cicadas at night in Lulou town, Peixian county, Xuzhou city, east China's Jiangsu Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Hantian)

He said a single tree can produce over 300 golden cicadas, and with each selling for around 1 yuan (about $0.14), that's more than 300 yuan in earnings per tree. On average, this adds up to an annual income boost of over 10,000 yuan per mu of land.

As more villagers began raising golden cicadas, Jia launched an initiative to breed cicada eggs using modern science and technology.

Photo shows newly hatched cicada nymphs. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Hantian)

Jia and local villagers have partnered with the Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine to set up a lab where they can precisely control the temperature, humidity, and light cycles in the cicada egg incubation rooms.

In a 150-mu experimental field in Lulou town, Li Songlin, director of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) quality and metabolomics research center at the Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, led his team in collecting samples of asparagus roots, soil, and cicada nymphs.

Villagers catch golden cicadas at night in Lulou town, Peixian county, Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Hantian)

"Asparagus has shallow roots, making it ideal for nourishing cicadas," Li explained. Last July, the town began exploring an asparagus-golden cicada farming model. The expected yield is 150 kilograms of golden cicadas per mu, and with asparagus included, the total output value could reach around 30,000 yuan per mu.

After cicadas molt, their empty shells are put to good use. Some are sent to the Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine as a stable, high-quality source of medicinal ingredients. With support from the provincial rural revitalization team, Lulou town is also planning to bring in a factory producing TCM decoction pieces.

Photo shows cicada shells left behind on elm branches. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Hantian)