It's been more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. China's catering industry has had to adapt to the pandemic, but it's also been making efforts to get on track. Xia Ruixue reports.

Summer is here. For many, it's the best time that has come to grab a beer at night and sit outside with a platter of crayfish.

For many in China, crayfish is a delicacy during the summer time, particularly in Hubei Province, which has the largest crayfish farming bases in the country. It's where more than 40 percent of the country's crayfish are produced, traded, packed and shipped to the rest of the country, and, even to the rest of the world.

But the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai this spring affected the crayfish supply chain again.

FANG YINHUA Manager, Wuhan Zunqin Aquatic CO., Ltd "When Shanghai suddenly announced it would lock down the city at the beginning of this April, all the logistics had to stop. That day more than 5,000 kilograms of my crayfish which were already on the way to Shanghai had nowhere to go."

Luckily a company in Hubei Province nearly 1,000 kilometers away, which made prefabricated food accepted Fang's crayfish. He sold them all. But still, he lost 100,000 yuan that day.

It's been more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. And it's not only had crayfish farmers struggled, but restaurants are also making efforts to recover. Bali Crayfish is one of the famous crayfish chain brands in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province. It says it keeps changing its marketing strategy to attract more customers and improve its revenue.

XU YINGCONG Vice President, Wuhan Bali Crayfish CO., Ltd "We have kept innovating in the past two years. We create new dishes to attract younger customers. We go out, trying new marketing strategies. And the local government gives us support too, for instances, exempting some of the expenses."

A series of relief measures have been launched both by the central government and local authorities to help the catering industry cope with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.

They give subsidies, increase tax refunds and reductions, and stabilize the logistics chains. Now Wuhan's catering industry has recovered more than 70 percent of its pre-COVID value.

FANG YINHUA Manager, Wuhan Zunqin Aquatic CO., Ltd "The local government has encouraged and supported us in doing livestreaming e-commerce to sell our products directly to the customers."

WU JING Director of E-Commerce & Business Dept., Commerce Bureau of Wuhan "Now over 60 percent restaurants in Wuhan embrace online takeout and delivery services. And many have started to do prepare prefabricated food. All we do now is to give these companies a hand and solve various problems."

Now life and work are getting back to normal in China, as Beijing and Shanghai's outbreaks are under control.

Many say that China's quick response of COVID-19 provides a good foundation for an economic recovery.

XIA RUIXUE Wuhan "Every time a city saw a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, its catering industry was one of the hardest hit. But thanks to policies and measures to help stimulate businesses, a recovery was seen quickly in this sector. Xia Ruixue, CGTN, Wuhan, Hubei Province."