Wang Bao He processes 1,000 kg of hairy crabs everyday from mid-September to Octover. The restaurant first started out as a place where people could savor high quality yellow wine. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

Zheng Xianchao arrives at the renowned Wang Bao He restaurant before seven in the morning and spends the next two hours selecting 1,000 hairy crabs from the back of a black van, flanked only by his shifu.

The pair only picks females crabs that weigh more 100 grams and male ones that are over 150 grams. Anything lighter would be frowned upon by the customers of the time-honored restaurant that specializes in the autumn delicacy.