The First Annual Chongming Island Crayfish Festival
Posted on October 17 2012
Join Factory Five on the weekend of October 27/28th and ride to Chongming Island; Eat lots of Crayfish; Have a bloody good time.
We’ve been working with our friends over at the Good Earth Project to put together a super agenda. Take a look at this:
[flickr size=’large’]8096325234[/flickr]
We ride on Saturday afternoon from Factory Five to the Shanghai port of Baoshan 30km away. Then we cruise over to Chongming island on a boat supervised by the local Major.
We’ll grab our bags (which have been transported for us in a van) freshen up, go to the Good Earth Project 2 (GEP2) sustainable black rice farm and eat an amazing meal cooked by Austin Hu’s Madison. Live jazz will be wafting over our tables which are nestled within the paddy fields.
For the night we’ll stay in local accommodation with full bellies, tired legs and happy hearts as the stars twinkle above. On sunday we’ll ride back to Shanghai after breakfast or whenever takes your fancy.
All for 380RMB
The general schedule is below. If you wish to come, send an email to us at shoutout@wearefactoryfive.com with your (1) Name (2) Email (3) Phone Number (4) If you’d like to share a room with anybody.
Then bring 380RMB per person over to Factory Five. We’ll be sending out the finalised details after the weekend. We’re limited in numbers for this trip so can’t secure any places before we’ve got the cold hard cash in our hands!
Saturday 27th October:
11h00 Meet at F5, register, put bags on the van
11h30-14h30 ride to Baoshan port (~30km)
15h00 Ferry departs for Chongming
15h30 Ferry arrives to Chongming Xinhe port
15h30-16h30 ride to GEP2 farm (~15km)
16h30-19h00 check into rooms
19h00 Etouffee crayfish supper by Austin Hu’s Madison
(with plenty of beer and live jazz)
Sunday 28th October:
07h00 – 10h00 Breakfast when you wake
11h00 – Ride back to Shanghai
(or return at your own will on a different ferry)
About GEP
The Good Earth Project have been doing some amazing things with sustainable farming. Their latest project is a black rice plantation on Chongming which is completely pesticide free.
They import Australian crayfish which live in the fields. At night they come out to consume all the bugs. The result is a harvest of 100% damn fine rice and a yearly haul of nicely fattened crayfish.
To celebrate this achievement, GEP are hosting special guests during the Festival and this is where Factory Five comes in There’s no greater match for sustainable farming than we riders with a taste for healthy exploration and an appetite for tremendous food!
The Ride
To get there we’ll be rolling approximately 45km in total. First is 30km to the port and then around 15km to the GEP2 farm on Chongming.
Shanghai city and the island are both quite flat, so most kinds of bikes are suitable. We’ll be riding at a leisurely but brisk pace – giving ourselves two hours to get from Factory Five to the port which is more than ample.
We’ll all be transporting our bags (pyjamas and a toothbrush) on the van. All you’ll be carrying on the bike are your essentials, some water and a perhaps a snickers if you get peckish.
So, give it some thought (not too much) and if you want in – let us know!