Hougang Green-Shell Lychees

Hougang Green-Shell Lychees

The Hougang Green-Shell Lychee is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Hougang Village in Sidu Town, Zhao’an County, is renowned for its Wuye Green-Shell lychees. Highly valued in lychee orchards, these fruits have long been regarded as rare delicacies, enjoying fame both at home and abroad.

　　 The Green-Shell lychee belongs to the Wuye premium variety, characterized by plump, large berries with small seeds and thick flesh—typically around 18 per jin. Even after being picked and left for three or four days, their color and flavor remain unchanged. When ripe, the skin of the Green-Shell lychee is a jade-green hue tinged with faint red streaks. Peeling a fresh one releases an extraordinary fruity aroma. The flesh is crystal-clear like mutton-fat jade, crisp, sweet, and juicy—eating it in summer feels like sipping nectar. It truly lives up to the saying: “Such a delicacy belongs in heaven, rarely tasted by mortals.” Even more remarkably, if a peeled lychee falls to the ground, it doesn’t stick to the dirt—truly a top-tier lychee among its kind.

　　 Zhao’an lychees usually hit the market in large quantities about ten days after the Summer Solstice, but the Hougang Green-Shell variety makes its stunning debut nearly half a month later, almost at the tail end of the season when other lychees have faded. Undoubtedly, the Green-Shell lychee extends the annual lychee supply period. Each year, as people savor this earthly treasure, they delight in sharing tales about it. Hougang has a long history of cultivating Green-Shell lychees. Legend has it that in ancient times, a crane flew in from the sea, carrying a single lychee pit in its beak, which it dropped on the hill behind Hougang Village. After letting out three cries, the crane spread its wings and flew away, and a lychee tree grew where the pit landed, bearing exceptionally sweet fruit. Later, when people transplanted the variety elsewhere, the fruit never matched the aromatic richness of the original from Hougang.

　　 Historical records indicate that as early as the Song Dynasty, tribute lychees began to be selected from Fujian. It’s said that Hougang lychees were among the tributes, preserved during transport by placing them in embroidered sachets filled with fragrant spices. Some of these spice-filled lychee pouches used for transport are still preserved in the United States today.

　　 In the 1950s, the product was exported to Hong Kong, where local newspapers ran prominent headlines such as “Hougang Lychees Hit the Market.” In the 1960s, it became a sought-after item for canneries across the province and beyond. In 1998, China Central Television’s program Economic Half-Hour also featured a special segment on it. Today, Hougang boasts over 2,000 mu of lychee orchards, with Wuye Green-Shell lychee production reaching approximately 1 million kilograms in 2002.