Zengcheng Shixia Longan

Zengcheng Shixia Longan

　　 "Shixia" is a premium variety of longan. Zengcheng Shixia longan is mainly grown in areas such as Licheng, Xintang, Sanjiang, and Shitan. It is known for its high yield and excellent quality—its fruit has thick, sweet, and juicy flesh, small seeds, high sugar content, and a delicious taste when fresh, along with rich nutrition. When dried (known as longan pulp or "long yan rou"), it has calming and nourishing properties and is used as a traditional Chinese medicinal tonic. Among them, the Shixia longan from Xiajie Village in Zengcheng is considered the best. When the fruit ripens each year, it is mostly exported to markets in Hong Kong, Macau, and Europe & America.

　　The longan produced in Zhongshan was once most famous for the crisp-fleshed variety from Jiuzhouji in Lan Town. In recent years, through careful cultivation and optimization by the city’s fruit authorities, a superior strain of Shixia longan—the Zhongshan Crisp-Flesh Longan—was developed, surpassing others in quality. Its characteristics include large fruit size, small seeds, an edible portion of 67% to 69%, translucent and thick flesh that is crisp, sweet, and does not drip juice, with an average single fruit weight of 9.36 grams.