Luzhou Longan

Luzhou Longan

Luzhou longan is a product recognized under the Agricultural Product Geographical Indication system.

　　Luzhou longan enjoys considerable fame in China and is one of the country’s five most renowned fruits. It is considered a premium and popular local specialty product. The main production areas are in the urban district and Luxian County.

　　Luzhou longan is prized for its thick, tender flesh, glossy color, sweet juice, delightful flavor, and high sugar and vitamin content. Its fine, tender, fragrant, and sweet attributes surpass those of longan produced in Fujian and the Guangdong–Guangxi regions. Longan can be eaten fresh, or processed into dried fruit, preserves, or canned goods. The flesh is nutritious and has high medicinal value, known to nourish the heart, improve intelligence, enrich blood, and calm the nerves. It is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Currently, Luzhou has over 130,000 longan trees.

　　As one of Sichuan’s famous fruits, Luzhou longan is grown in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, located in the transitional zone between the southern edge of the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The region receives abundant rainfall, strong sunlight, and ample heat. It features a mild winter, hot and humid summer, long frost-free period, and is free from typhoons all year, belonging to a quasi-south subtropical climate. The main longan production areas in Luzhou are distributed at altitudes below 400 meters, where the soil mainly consists of purple soil and new and old alluvial deposits along rivers. The area offers good drainage and irrigation capabilities, with water resources from the Yangtze River system being abundant. Luzhou’s unique light, heat, and climatic conditions provide an ideal environment for the growth of longan and the formation of its distinctive quality, establishing it as the latest-maturing, highest-quality, and largest-scale inland production base of longan at the northernmost edge of such cultivation.

　　Luzhou longan is distinguished by its “thick flesh, easy-to-separate pit, delicate and crisp texture, melt-in-the-mouth feel, intense sweetness, aromatic flavor, small seed, and rich nutrition.” The fruit boasts excellent appearance and quality, with high edible rates, soluble solids content, and total sugar levels. It contains various vitamins and trace elements and holds significant medicinal value. Luzhou longan matures from mid-August to mid-October, hitting the market two months later than the main southern longan-producing areas. This timing allows it to dominate the late-maturing longan market, ensuring strong sales, high prices, and competitive market advantage. Luzhou’s premium late-maturing longan has been included in the Ministry of Agriculture’s "Special Agricultural Products Regional Layout Plan (2006–2015)," designating it as a key supported and developed quality agricultural product production base.

　　Luzhou longan has a long planting history. Research indicates that it has been cultivated for over 2,000 years, with large-scale production flourishing 1,600 years ago. Historical texts such as *Records of Southern Foreign Objects* by Yang Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, *Ode to the Capital of Shu* by Zuo Si in the 3rd century, and poetry from Su Shi during the Tang Dynasty Tianbao era (742 AD) all provide detailed descriptions of Luzhou longan production. It even became a tribute product. To this day, the largest longan fruits in the Luzhou area are still called "tribute longan." The existing Zhangba Longan Forest in Luzhou is the largest and oldest longan forest on the Tropic of Cancer in China, covering over 6,000 acres and stretching more than 10 kilometers. It is home to more than 15,000 longan trees over 100 years old, forming a spectacular sight and serving as solid evidence of the long history of Luzhou longan.

　　Luzhou Longan

　　 Sichuan

　　 Luzhou Horticultural Society

　　 The geographical protection scope of the Luzhou Longan Agricultural Product Geographical Indication covers six districts and counties in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province: Jiangyang District, Naxi District, Longmatan District, Luxian County, Hejiang County, and Xuyong County—encompassing 102 towns and streets. The geographic coordinates are between 105°08′ to 106°28′ east longitude and 27°39′ to 29°20′ north latitude.

　　 AGI2010-04-00300