Mapiang Lancelet

Mapiang Lancelet

　　Mapiang Lancelet is a specialty of Mapiang Town in Xiang'an District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province. Rich in nutrients, it is a delicacy often served at banquets. It can be used as an accompaniment to dishes or made into crispy fish snacks, offering a delicious and fresh taste. Its dried form is an especially prized seafood.

　　The waters around Crocodile Islet in Qiongtou Village, Mapiang Town, are abundant in lancelets. Historical records indicate that since the 14th year of the Yuanhe era in the Tang Dynasty (819 AD), when Han Yu, the governor of Chaozhou, exterminated crocodiles, lancelets were discovered and had already been fished by locals, albeit in small quantities. Large-scale production occurred between 1945 and 1956, with annual yields reaching 1,000 to 2,000 dan. The lancelet is 3–5 cm long, laterally compressed, and tapered at both ends, hence nicknamed the “gun-barrel creature.” It has no head, eyes, ears, nose, fins, scales, or vertebral column, which inspired the local saying: “The lancelet has no nose or eyes — it doesn’t know current affairs.” Extremely nutritious, it contains 70% protein and various minerals, especially a high level of iodine. It is a delicacy often served at banquets, used as a dish ingredient or made into crispy snacks, offering a delicious and fresh taste. Its dried form is an especially prized seafood. Overseas Chinese love lancelets, giving rise to the saying “Tasting lancelet makes one homesick.” It is a valuable gift for guests, a rare and precious animal in the world, a living fossil for studying animal evolution and embryonic development. Mapiang is also renowned worldwide for its abundance of lancelets.