为了让那些没空逛市场的顾客也能购买到新鲜的大闸蟹，江苏省南京市一家公司在当地数个地铁站安装了螃蟹自动售货机，消费者只需通过简单的操作，就可以按照大小进行选择，购买自己相中的螃蟹。

crab¹ dispensers have been installed at several underground stations in Nanjing, the capital of the southeastern province of Jiangsu." src="http://www.enread.com/upimg/allimg/101030/4_101030013456_1.jpg" width="301" height="206" />
The automatic crab dispensers have been installed at several underground stations in Nanjing, the capital of the southeastern province of Jiangsu.

Commuters in China who are too busy to keep supermarket opening hours are being offered a nutritious² alternative to the diet of crisps（薯片） , chocolate and fizzy drinks（汽水） usually dispensed³ from train station vending⁴ machines – live crabs⁵.

The automatic crab dispensers（药剂师，配药员） have been installed at several underground stations in Nanjing, the capital of the southeastern province of Jiangsu, by an enterprising local company hoping to capitalize on the increasingly hectic⁶（兴奋的，狂热的） lifestyles of urban Chinese.

The 'Dazha' hairy crabs, which are a popular regional delicacy⁷（微妙，精密） along the Yangtze River delta⁸（三角洲） cities of Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, are sold in three sizes – large, medium or small – and range in prices from £1.50 to £5.00.

The crabs are packed into custom-fitted plastic boxes and chilled to 41F (5C) which is enough to sedate⁹ them but also keep them alive. A sign next to the machine offers three free crabs for anyone who is unlucky enough to get a dead one, the local 'Guangzhou Daily' newspaper reported.

"The customers were a bit skeptical¹⁰ at first as they were worried if the crabs were alive or not," Wu Zhendi, general manager of the Twin Lake Crab Co. told The Telegraph, "but now they see they are alive, they keep coming back. We are selling hundreds each day, and more at weekends."

The company, which claim on its website to supply crabs to dignitaries（高官，显要人物） staying at China's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse outside Beijing, said it was now planning to expand the trials, possibly even as far as Japan where vending machines are used to sell everything from eggs to ice and umbrellas.