Xinghua Longan

Xinghua Longan

Xinghua Longan is a protected geographical indication product.

Xinghua Longan is a certified geographical indication trademark.

　　Longan, ripening only after lychees have been harvested, is thus nicknamed “the lychee’s servant,” commonly known as longan. According to the *Shennong’s Herbal Classic*, “Longan, named ‘Yizhi’ (benefits intelligence), comes from the valleys of the South Sea.” In the early Three Kingdoms period (220–226 AD), Emperor Wen of Wei once proclaimed to his ministers: “The treasures of the south, such as longan and lychee… come from Jiu Zhen and Jiao Zhi.” Jiu Zhen and Jiao Zhi refer to present-day Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. In 1988, research conducted by the Fujian Academy of Fruit Tree Research on differences in pollen morphology confirmed that the wild longan on Hainan Island occupies a primitive position in its evolutionary development, providing strong evidence that longan originated in southern China.

　　　　Longan belongs to the Sapindaceae family. It is an evergreen tree with even-pinnate compound leaves, having 4–6 pairs of lanceolate leaflets that are entire, leathery, smooth, and hairless. The inflorescence is a panicle, with small yellow flowers that include both male and bisexual flowers. Blooming occurs from late spring to early summer, with fruit maturing in August. The fruit is round like a pellet, with a shell that is pale yellow or brown. The flesh is white, translucent, and juicy, thinner than that of lychee, purely sweet without acidity, with minimal fiber, and an excellent flavor. It thrives in warm, humid conditions and can live for up to 400 years. Propagation methods include sowing, grafting, layering, and cuttings. The tree has a lush canopy and durable, sturdy wood suitable for furniture, shipbuilding, and carving. Its roots and trunk can be used to extract tannin. The fruit can be eaten fresh or processed into dried or canned products. In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried flesh is used to nourish the heart and spleen, enrich blood, and calm the nerves.

　　　　China has a long history of cultivating longan, spanning over two thousand years. Longan planting in Xinghua began during the Sui and Tang dynasties, flourishing especially in the Song and Ming dynasties. According to the *Xianyou Annals*, “On December 24 of the fourth year of Daguan in the Song Dynasty (1110 AD), a heavy snowfall occurred, freezing and killing many lychees and longans in Xianyou.” In the fifth year of Qiandao (1169 AD), Xianyou’s sugarcane, lychees, and dried longan were shipped from Taiping Port (now Xiabridge Port) to the Jianghuai region. This shows that large-scale longan production existed in Xianyou during the Song Dynasty.

　　　　Thanks to the mild climate, moist air, and uniquely favorable natural conditions along the Mulan River, coupled with suitable soil, the longan produced here boasts top-quality taste and quality across China, making it a leader among China’s longans. No wonder the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi spoke highly of longan: “People of Min and Yue praise lychees but look down on longan; I’d like to set the record straight. Lychees are like eating a large hairy crab, rich and creamy enough to satisfy with one bite. Longan is like eating a stone crab—chewing for a long time yields little, but when the wine wears off and the palate clears, amid satiety, the lingering taste may sometimes make the stone crab surpass the hairy crab.” These words serve well to defend the honor of the “lychee’s servant.” The Ming Dynasty scholar Song Yu described Xinghua longan as: “Round as a jade bead, red as a golden pill, flesh like glass, and pit as black as lacquer. It nourishes essence and marrow, quenches thirst, beautifies the skin, and enhances complexion. Its numerous benefits are too many to list.”

　　He also wrote a poem wholeheartedly praising Xinghua longan: “Gilded on the outside, with white jade flesh within; split open, they roll like marbles, each a glowing pearl at night.” Throughout history, Xinghua longan has been regarded as a precious southern product and offered as tribute to the imperial court. According to the *Xinghua Prefecture Annals* from the Ming Dynasty’s Hongzhi era, Xianyou and Putian counties alone contributed over a thousand catties of dried Xinghua longan as annual tribute. The saying “Xinghua longan is the best under heaven” has circulated since then to this day. Nowadays, many overseas Chinese in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia display dried Xinghua longan in glass boxes as decorative pieces at home. In domestic cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, and other northern provinces, dried Xinghua longan is considered a valuable cold-weather tonic, essential for women during postpartum recovery.

　　　　China’s major longan-producing regions include Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Taiwan. Among these, our province produces the most, accounting for about half of the national output. The longan from Putian and Xianyou stands out as the finest in China, particularly those from towns such as Huating and Wutang in Putian, and Gaiwei, Jiaowei, Fengting, and Bangtou in Xianyou, which are especially prized. Noted varieties include Wulongling, Youtanben, Puming’an, Shuinan, Quanzhouben, Xipuben, and Chushuben.

　　　　In Xinghua, apart from being eaten fresh, most longan is baked into dried longan. When making dried longan, freshly picked fruits are first clipped individually, then placed in large baskets and soaked in buckets for about ten minutes before being taken out to dry. They are then poured into large double-ended bamboo baskets, mixed with fine sand, and gently shaken back and forth around two hundred times. This friction turns the shells brownish-yellow. After half an hour, the longan is spread on a baking tray and dried with low heat through three flips over 24 hours to produce dried longan. Since the pits cannot be fully dried in one go, the freshly baked longan is left in a dry place to allow the shells to draw moisture from the pits. After five or six days, it is baked again, making the dried longan less prone to mold and spoilage, thus suitable for long-term storage. Dried Xinghua longan is famous both in China and abroad, with Fengting’s Putou Village becoming one of the national distribution and sales hubs for dried longan.