Beautuful scenes of the red wetland in Panjin.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Red wetland and crabs make the city a pearl in Northeast China.

If you are looking for a holiday to treat both your eyes and taste buds, Panjin, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, is a little-known treasure.

It is relatively unknown compared with its southern counterparts such as Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Xiamen in Fujian province.

But, as word of mouth spreads, Panjin is becoming a hot tourist destination in Northeast China, especially in October when a vast expanse of water reeds paints the city's wetland a rosy red, and hairy crabs, grown in the rice paddies are ready to harvest.

Every year, from September to October, the immense coverage of water grass, adaptable to the saline and alkaline soil in Panjin Honghaitan Wetland Tourist & Holiday Resort at the delta of Liaohe River changes color, from luscious green to flaming red to deep purple.