The semifinals of the 4th National Rural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project Creativity Contest was held recently, according to local media on Sept 15 and a lobster farmer and producer from the city of Quzhou in East China's Zhejiang province was one of the top performers.

Winning plaudits among the 131 semifinalist projects was the Chinese Blue Lobster Farm project, which qualified for the finals with the second highest score.

Officials said the semifinals were divided into "start-up group" and "growth group", and projects with the top 30 highest scores made it through to the national finals, which will be  held in Nanjing, in Jiangsu province, on Sept 22-23.

The large-scale lobster farm project -- based in Quzhou -- is being developed by Kaihua Fuju Agricultural Development Co Ltd, which farms Australian blue lobsters and Australian red lobsters.

The project covers an area of 290 hectares and involves a total investment of 4.17 billion yuan ($620 million).

Officials said at completion, the lobster farm is expected to become one of the pillar industries of economic development in Kaihua county, in Quzhou.