Macheng Lychee

Macheng Lychee

Macheng lychee is a product with geographical indication status.

　　Macheng lychee gets its name from Macheng Town, its main production area. Macheng Town in Guiping City was the earliest to cultivate lychees, with a long history of cultivation. A lychee tree planted in front of He Yugui’s house in He Village, Macheng Town, during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era, is over 400 years old. In Baise Village, Macheng Town, there are five ancient lychee trees aged between 400 and 500 years. The “Qun Fang Pu” (Catalogue of Flowers), newly compiled by Wang Xiangjin of the Ming Dynasty, specifically documented the black-leaf lychees of Nanqiao and Xi’an in Macheng, Guiping. In the late Qing Dynasty, poet Cui Zhaolin of Guiping County even named his poetry collection “Fu Li Xuan Shi Cun” (Collection of Poems from the Lychee-Sheltering Pavilion). In 1995, Guiping City was named “China’s Hometown of Lychees,” and in 2012, Macheng Town was named “Guangxi’s Hometown of Macheng Lychees.” Macheng lychees have even been given as state gifts abroad. In the early 1980s, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated Macheng lychees to be air-freighted as diplomatic gifts to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for Chairman Kim Il-sung to taste.

　　Origin: Macheng Town, Guiping, Guangxi, China. The southern region of our city, including towns such as Macheng, enjoys a mild climate and abundant rainfall. The soil is primarily composed of weathered sandy shale, with a slightly acidic to acidic pH, making it suitable for lychee growth. It has always been one of the main lychee-producing areas in our city. The main variety is the He Lychee, which features bright red skin, thick flesh, small seeds, a fragrant aroma, and a sweet, crisp taste with thin skin and juicy pulp. Tests show that the flesh contains up to 30% sugar, along with protein, fat, phosphorus, iron, and various vitamins, making it a valuable tonic. Eaten fresh or made into canned lychee in syrup, it can nourish the brain, improve health, stimulate appetite, and benefit the spleen. Dried lychees have a waxy yellow flesh, are sweet, and serve as tonics for new mothers and the elderly or infirm. After 1980, the development of Macheng lychees accelerated, with the main-producing Macheng Town yielding over 6 million kilograms in good years. Today, Guiping has become one of Guangxi’s largest commercial lychee production bases, with its products selling well across the region, in Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, and beyond. (Guiping)

　　Macheng lychee gets its name from Macheng Town in Guiping City. The area has slightly acidic to acidic soil conditions that are particularly suitable for lychee cultivation. There is a wide range of varieties, covering early, mid, and late ripening periods. Extra early varieties include March Red; mid-early ones include Black-Leaf Lychee, Clove Lychee, Water Lychee, Glutinous Rice Ball, and Guiye; while late-ripening varieties include He Lychee. Among these, He Lychee is the dominant variety, accounting for over 90% of the total cultivation area. Macheng lychees feature bright red skin, thick flesh, small seeds, a fragrant aroma, a sweet and crisp taste, and thin skin with juicy pulp. Whether fresh, canned, or dried, they are considered valuable tonics suitable for all ages and are especially effective in nourishing the brain, improving health, and stimulating appetite and the spleen. Guiping has been honored by the State Council with the title of “China’s Hometown of Lychees.”

　　The southern part of our city, including towns such as Macheng, enjoys a mild climate and abundant rainfall. The soil is primarily composed of weathered sandy shale, with a slightly acidic to acidic pH, making it suitable for lychee growth. It has always been one of the main lychee-producing areas in our city. The main variety is the He Lychee, which features bright red skin, thick flesh, small seeds, a fragrant aroma, a sweet and crisp taste, and thin skin with juicy pulp. Whether eaten fresh or made into canned lychee in syrup, it can nourish the brain, improve health, stimulate appetite, and benefit the spleen. Dried lychees have a waxy yellow flesh, are sweet, and serve as tonics for new mothers and the elderly or infirm.

　　After 1980, the development of Macheng lychees accelerated, with the main-producing Macheng Town yielding over 6 million kilograms in good years. Today, Guiping has become one of Guangxi’s largest commercial lychee production bases, with its products selling well across the region, in Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, and beyond.

　　Guiping Macheng lychees offer high edible and medicinal value. They have thick, crisp flesh, are sweet and juicy, have thin, bright red skin, small seeds, and an edible portion of 73–75%. Each fruit weighs 16–18 grams. Per 100 grams of fresh lychee flesh, there are 30 mg of vitamin C, 34 mg of phosphorus, 6 mg of calcium, and 17–19% soluble solids. Additionally, they contain small amounts of protein, fat, and iron. Li Shizhen, a famous ancient Chinese herbalist, wrote in the “Compendium of Materia Medica”: “Lychees can quench thirst, enhance complexion, invigorate the spirit and intelligence, treat scrofula and tumors.” “Regular consumption of lychees can nourish the brain, improve health, stimulate appetite, and benefit the spleen... serving as tonics for new mothers and the elderly or infirm.” Lychee flesh can also treat cervical lymph node tuberculosis, while the seeds can be used to make astringent pain-relief medicine for stomach ailments, intestinal hernia pain, and testicular swelling and pain. Dried lychee leaves can absorb lychee juice and be dried to make lychee tea, which has a sweet flavor. Lychees can also be used to brew lychee wine. Dried lychees can benefit qi and enrich blood, making them ideal tonics for the elderly, infirm, and women. Lychees have a high commercialization rate; apart from being eaten fresh, they are also processed into canned lychees and dried lychees, with a commercialization rate of 98%.

　　Guiping Macheng lychees have a cultivation history of over 2,000 years. The “Records of the Three Kingdoms • Biography of Huang Pu” states that in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, “Emperor Wu of Han conquered the Southern Yue and built the Fu Lychee Palace.” Since then, lychees became a treasured tribute from local officials in the Southern Yue region, with Macheng in Guiping, Guangxi, being one of the major sources. Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo described in his “Ode to Lychees” how, as early as the Yongyuan era of the Western Han Dynasty (39–104 AD), “Yongyuan lychees came from Jiaozhou.” To reflect how Western Han rulers spared no expense to obtain this “rare delicacy,” forcing commoners to transport lychees from Jiaozhou (i.e., Macheng in Guiping) via Xiangxi and over the Qinling Mountains to Chang’an as quickly as possible, Su Shi wrote: “Every ten li, dust flies from checkpoints; every five li, piles of soldiers urge on the journey. People tumble into pits and lie among valleys—yet you know it’s lychees and longans coming. Chariots race over mountains, seabirds fly across seas, branches with wind and dew look freshly colored. A palace beauty smiles, and dust and blood splash through the ages.” The “Qun Fang Pu” (Catalogue of Flowers) newly compiled by Wang Xiangjin of the Ming Dynasty also specifically documented the black-leaf lychees of Nanqiao and Xi’an in Macheng, Guiping. In the late Qing Dynasty, poet Cui Zhaolin of Guiping County even named his poetry collection “Fu Li Xuan Shi Cun” (Collection of Poems from the Lychee-Sheltering Pavilion). In 1976 and 1978, Han Dynasty tombs excavated in Luobowan, Guixian, contained lychee fruit of the Macheng He Lychee type as burial objects, serving as evidence. Today, in Baise Village, Macheng Town, there are five ancient lychee trees aged between 400 and 500 years. Among them, the household of Jiang Yexin in Team 9 of the village has three ancient lychee trees covering an area of 1.2 mu, yielding 5,500 kilograms in high-yield years, equivalent to 4,583 kilograms per mu, with an average yield of 1,833 kilograms per tree. A lychee tree planted in front of He Yugui’s house in He Village during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era is over 400 years old, has had fourteen owners, yet remains vigorous. This ancient tree stands 8.75 meters tall, with a crown spread of 15.4 meters, a north-south width of 15 meters, and a trunk diameter of 2.7 meters. It still yields over 1,000 jin (500 kg) of fruit annually and is known as the “Lychee King.”

　　Guiping Macheng lychees account for about half of the city’s total lychee production. The planting area spans 120,000 mu, with a total yield of 30,000–50,000 tons.

　　Geographical Scope

　　The protected area for Macheng lychees is located in the southeastern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at elevations ranging from 33.3 to 1,313.6 meters. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the central part of the city, placing it in the South Subtropical Zone. The terrain is higher in the south and north, with the central area mostly consisting of plains, plateaus, and small hills, while the northern and southern ends are medium to low mountainous regions. It borders Pingnan County to the east, Rongxian, Beiliu, Yuzhou District, and Xingye counties of Yulin City to the south, Gangbei District of Guigang City to the west, and Wuxuan and Jinxiu counties of Laibin City to the north. The total boundary length is 375 kilometers, with a width of 69 kilometers from east to west and a length of 104 kilometers from north to south. The protected geographical indication area for Macheng lychees includes 26 towns and their 414 administrative villages, plus one state-owned forest farm: Macheng, Youma, Shepo, Luobo, Mugen, Xishan, Mengwei, Shilong, Houlu, Baisha, Nanmu, Jintian, Dongxin, Zijing, Jiangkou, Mule, Mugui, Shizui, Mapu, Xunwang, Luoxiu, Zhongsha, Dayang, Shebu, Xiawan, Dawan. The protected area lies between 109°41′55″–110°22′48″ east longitude and 22°52′02″–23°48′04″ north latitude. The growing area covers 18,000 hectares, with a yield of 60,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　(1) External Sensory Characteristics: Macheng lychees mainly consist of two varieties, He Lychee and Guiwei. The He Lychee: medium-sized fruit, averaging 21.0g per fruit, with a vertical diameter of 3.05–3.45cm and a horizontal diameter of 3.22–3.49cm. It is spherical, with a flat shoulder and round apex, and a neat shape. The skin is dark red, thick and tough, averaging 1.15mm in thickness. The cracking pattern is flat, irregularly arranged, with no distinct ridge peaks, shallow and broad cracks, and a clearly visible deep red seam line. The flesh is white-wax colored, 0.90–1.35cm thick, soft, smooth, juicy, sweet, with a 75.2% edible rate and a 32% hollow seed rate, considered mid-to-high quality. Most seeds are full, dark brown, and medium-sized. The Guiwei: medium-sized fruit, averaging 17.5g per fruit, with a vertical diameter of 2.90–3.41cm and a horizontal diameter of 2.88–3.37cm. It is spherical, with a flat shoulder and round apex. The skin is light red, thin and brittle, averaging 1.05mm in thickness. The cracking pattern features conical, protruding tips, sharp and spiky ridge peaks, distinct and deep narrow grooves, and sunken areas. The flesh is milky white, 0.88–1.18cm thick, extremely crisp, tender, sweet, juicy, with an osmanthus fragrance, a 78.3% edible rate, and a 78% hollow seed rate, considered top quality. The seeds are reddish-brown and glossy. (2) Internal Quality Indicators: The main content indicators of Macheng lychees are: total acid ≤2.75g/kg, refractometer sugar ≥19.6%, soluble solids ≥19.6°Brix. (3) Safety Requirements: The origin selection for Macheng lychees strictly follows NY5023-2002 “Environmental Conditions for the Production Areas of Pollution-Free Tropical Fruits.” The cultivation process complies with NY/T5174–2002 “Technical Regulations for the Pollution-Free Production of Lychees,” ensuring pollution-free, standardized production. Product quality is certified according to industry standards for pollution-free production, with safety and hygiene meeting the requirements of NY5173–2005 “Pollution-Free Foods: Lychees, Longans, and Rambutans.” (4) Packaging: Sturdy, clean, non-toxic, and odorless materials such as cartons, bamboo baskets, or foam boxes are used, complying with GB/T5737. (5) Storage: Fresh fruit should be stored in cool, ventilated, sun-proof, rain-proof, non-toxic, odor-free, and contamination-free environments. Direct sunlight and rain are strictly prohibited, and storage with toxic, harmful, spoiled, or odorous items is not allowed. (6) Transportation: Transport vehicles must be clean, non-toxic, odor-free, and uncontaminated, with sun and rain protection. Transport with toxic, harmful, or foul-smelling goods in the same batch is not permitted.