Litchi has just been out of season while longan is in season and become the protagonist of Guangdong’s fruit stand. Longan is one of the four major fruits of South China(banana, pineapple, longan, litchi). It has been regarded preciously since ancient times.
广东龙眼果肉白润细嫩,晶莹饱满,它不但味道可口,而且还是滋补佳品。
The flesh of Guangdong longan is white and tender, crystal full. It’s not only with delicious taste but also a good tonic.
Guangdong is one of the places of origin of longan in China, with a planting area of about 1.7 million mu, ranking first in China. July and August are the peak seasons for longan in Guangdong.Maoming is the largest longan production base in Guangdong, with a long history of planting which can date back as far as 2,000 years ago. At present, the longan planting area is nearly 800,000 mu in Maoming.
Gaozhou, Maoming is the source of Chuliang longan. More than seventy years ago, a villager Mo Yaokun of Gaozho brought back two wild longan saplings, one of which survived. Its fruits were of excellent quality and taste. These were the original Chuliang longan. Nowadays, Chuliang longan has become the largest variety of longan planted in the country and even in the world.
Shixia longan is another high-quality variety with a long history of cultivation. The word “shixia” means sandwiched between stones. The earliest longan trees grew in the cracks of large stones and were able to absorb underground substances, resulting in fruits with thick flesh and small nuclei, sweet and crisp flavour, which are particularly tasty.
The Chinese call the dried and shelled longan guiyuan. According to Chinese traditional medicine, guiyuan can nourish vital energy, tonify the heart and spleen, nourish the blood and calm the mind.Longan processing technology in Gaozhou has been inherited for hundreds of years. There are more and more processed products of longan, such as guiyuan, dried longan, guiyuan tea, longan pastry and longan intestinal noodles etc.
Guangdong longan has sold well in the whole country and gone to the world. In the future, Guangdong longan will present more diversified product forms, bringing a sweet feast to consumers.