Pingnan Shixia Longan

Pingnan Shixia Longan

Pingnan Shixia Longan is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Pingnan Shixia Longan is a specialty of Pingnan County, Guigang City, Guangxi. The original variety of Shixia longan comes from Daxin Town in Pingnan County. Fresh Pingnan Shixia Longan has thick flesh, small pits, sweet and fragrant taste, crisp and refreshing texture, and is easy to peel, separate from the pit, and resistant to storage and transport. Pingnan Shixia Longan is a nationally protected geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Pingnan County has a unique soil and climate environment suitable for growing Shixia longan, resulting in high-quality and delicious produce. Pingnan Shixia Longan is favored by merchants for its large fruit size, small pits, thick flesh, and crisp texture. Currently, Pingnan County has 244,000 mu of Shixia longan plantations, with this year’s total output reaching 45,000 tons and total output value amounting to 270 million yuan.

　　The 108 mother trees of Shixia longan in Pingnan County were selected and cultivated by Mr. Qin Jingqing, who studied in Waseda University in Japan in the early years, in 1929 as a premium variety of longan. All Shixia longan grown in our county are propagated from these 108 mother trees, further enhancing the excellent quality of Shixia longan.

　　The greatest characteristic of Pingnan Shixia Longan is its superior quality and delicious taste—it is the best-tasting fresh longan among all varieties. Fresh Pingnan Shixia Longan has thick flesh, small pits, sweet and fragrant taste, crisp and refreshing texture, and is easy to peel, separate from the pit, and resistant to storage and transport. Each fruit weighs 8–12 grams, with soluble solids content of 22–24%. It contains 32 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, and an edible rate of around 70%. It is suitable for fresh consumption and processing into longan pulp. The longan pulp processed from Shixia longan has thick flesh and golden color, making it an important tonic.

　　Shixia longan is a famous and premium fruit of Pingnan County, Guangxi. Pingnan Shixia Longan won the gold award at the Second China Agricultural Expo in 1995. Pingnan County has now planted over 200,000 mu of Shixia longan, making it the largest commercial production base of Shixia longan in China. In 1996, our county was recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a high-quality Shixia longan base county.

　　The third National Expert Review Meeting on Geographical Indication Agricultural Products was held in Beijing on October 31, 2013. Pingnan Shixia Longan successfully passed the expert review as a geographical indication agricultural product. Pingnan Shixia Longan has become a geographical indication product.

　　Geographical Scope

　　The geographical indication protection area of Pingnan Shixia Longan includes all administrative towns within Pingnan County, namely Pingshan Town, Simian Town, Liuchen Town, Daxin Town, Dapo Town, Dazhou Town, Da’an Town, Wulin Town, Zhenlong Town, Shangdu Town, Pingnan Town, Danzhu Town, Donghua Township, Anhuai Town, Guancheng Town, Siwang Town, Sijie Township, Dapeng Town, Guo’an Township, Tonghe Town, Malian Township, and 21 other towns, along with their 288 subordinate village committees and communities. The protected area is located between 110°3′54″ to 110°39′42″ east longitude and 23°2′19″ to 24°2′19″ north latitude, spanning 51 km from east to west and 110.5 km from north to south. The protected area covers 16,000 hectares, with an output of 45,000 tons.