Millennium Ancient Lychee

Millennium Ancient Lychee

Millennium Ancient Lychee

Millennium Ancient Lychee The Millennium Ancient Lychee is located in Dengjia Village, Xinxu Town, Lingshan County, Guangxi, and is of the Lingshan Xiangli variety. The tree has a maximum trunk circumference of 6.15 meters, a height of 13.3 meters, and a crown spread of 15 meters. The ancient lychee is lush and bears fruit every year. Its fruits are oval-shaped and slightly flattened, with a deep red peel, small seeds, thick flesh that is sweet, crisp, and fragrant—of superior quality. In 1963, the renowned Chinese biologist Professor Pu Zhe-long led an investigation team that determined the tree to be over 1,460 years old (planted in 503 AD, making it over 1,502 years old today). It is currently the oldest surviving mother tree of the “Lingshan Xiangli” variety in China, and is recorded in both the *Lingshan County Annals* and the *Guangdong Lychee Records*. In May 1999, it was listed as a second batch of key cultural relics protection units by the county government.

The *Millennium Ancient Lychee Protection* project, implemented by the Lingshan County Agriculture Bureau and supported by the Xinxu Town Government, Dengjia Village Committee, and the County Fruit Bureau, has recently completed all construction tasks and passed acceptance inspection. The 1,500-year-old ancient lychee tree has been rejuvenated.

The *Millennium Ancient Lychee Protection* project constructed a 132-square-meter protected area for the ancient lychee. First, site clearing, tree trimming and protection, tree measurement, and protection planning were carried out. Second, a three-sided drainage ditch was built under the tree canopy. Third, a protective isolation fence was installed. Fourth, a protection signboard was erected. Fifth, regional road filling, root soil cultivation for the mother tree, and fertilizer application were conducted.

Through the project construction, it effectively prevents trampling damage from humans and livestock, while also providing a favorable growth environment for the ancient lychee. This revitalizes the millennium-old tree, ensures the breeding of the Lingshan Xiangli variety and research on superior lychee cultivars, and adds a beautiful scenic highlight to Lingshan’s title as the “Lychee Capital of China.”

Lingshan’s Ancient Lychees Over a Thousand Years Old

“This lychee tree is 500 years old!” If someone points to a lychee tree by the roadside and tells you this, there’s no need to be surprised. In Lingshan, known as the “Lychee Capital of China,” ancient lychee trees hundreds or even thousands of years old can be found everywhere.

According to the *Lingshan County Annals*, lychee cultivation began in the Tang Dynasty and saw significant development in the Song Dynasty. In 1961, the Guangdong Fruit Research Institute conducted a lychee variety resource survey in Lingshan (at the time under Guangdong’s jurisdiction) and identified a large Xiangli tree in Dengjiapo Brigade, Xinxu Commune (now Dengjia Village, Xinxu Town) with an age of over 1,400 years. Today, this millennium-old lychee remains lush and bears fruit almost every year, and has been listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Lingshan County.

In many parts of Lingshan, there has long been a custom: whenever a family welcomes a baby boy, they plant several lychee trees nearby. By the time the lychees bear fruit, the child has grown and is ready for school, providing the means to pursue education. This tradition has contributed to the abundance of ancient lychee trees seen across the lychee-growing region. In ancient times, having many lychee trees in a household symbolized wealth, and there was even a saying: “Owning a thousand lychee trees is equivalent to being a lord governing ten thousand households.” Hence, in Lingshan, “no village is without lychees.”

In Dengjia Village, just 7 kilometers from the county seat, ancient Xiangli trees aged four to five hundred years can be seen everywhere. The reporter interviewed over ten village officials and residents, yet none could say exactly how many ancient lychees grow in the village. At one household’s doorway, 80-year-old Huang Yeji pointed to a large, shady ancient Xiangli tree laden with fruit and said that the tree had looked the same since his childhood. It bears fruit every other year, sometimes yielding over 1,000 pounds. In the 1970s, the lychees from this tree were even sent to Beijing. According to staff from the county Party Committee Propaganda Department, Xinyuan Village also has many ancient lychee trees, among which two are particularly famous—named “Khrushchev” and “Nixon.” It is said that these two leaders once tasted lychees from these trees.

In Dalu Village, over a dozen ancient lychee trees aged 100 to 400 years grow with lush foliage and abundant fruit. Some of the ancient trees have hollow trunks, yet are still covered with bright red lychees. Villagers say the flesh of these ancient lychees is especially crisp and sweet.

According to officials from the county fruit bureau, there are dozens of ancient lychee trees over 1,000 years old across the county, along with over 10,000 lychee trees aged three to four hundred years—most of which are Xiangli varieties.