Dongyuan Fragrant Lychee

Dongyuan Fragrant Lychee

　　A premium fruit of Heshan, the rare Dongyuan Fragrant Lychee is grown in Dongyuan Village, Shuangqiao Management District, Shuanghe Town. In the 10th year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1497), the Li family migrated from Zhujixiang in Nanxiong to establish the village of Dongyuan. Their 11th-generation descendant, Li Zhuohua, reclaimed wasteland on Huangmao Mountain and planted over 20 acres of lychee trees. Over time, the lychee orchard gradually declined, leaving only two vigorous trees with thick trunks and abundant fruit. One tree has a main trunk that branches into four thick limbs, while the other features a double-limbed structure, covering an area of 1.5 mu (1 mu = 666.7 square meters), with a tree height of 10 meters. The lychees produced each year have small seeds, tender and sweet flesh, and a refreshing aroma, making them a rare and prized variety in Guangdong Province. In recent years, the trees typically yield around 500 kilograms of fruit, with the best harvest being 650 kilograms in 1992. In 1994, the Heshan Overseas Friendship Association organized a group of overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macau for a lychee-tasting trip to Dongyuan to sample this delicacy. Since the late 1980s, the village has planted over 500 acres of high-quality lychee varieties such as Feizixiao, Baila, Huai Zhi, Nuomici, and Heiye.