Yibin Datata Litchi

Yibin Datata Litchi

　　Yibin Datata Litchi is a famous specialty from Lichang Town, Yibin County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. The litchis are known for their large size, thick flesh, juiciness, pure flavor, a hint of sweetness with slight acidity, long-lasting enjoyment without getting tiresome, and excellent overall quality. A true reflection of the Datata Litchi can be found in the Qing Dynasty poem by Jing Yubi: “As spring ends at the ancient Jingsha ferry, the fragrance of litchis fills Rongzhou.”

　　Located at the confluence of the Jinsha River, Min River, and Yangtze River, Yibin enjoys abundant heat and water resources in the “Three Rivers” valley area, along with a long frost-free period—making it an ideal place for litchi cultivation and one of Sichuan’s main litchi-producing regions. In particular, Datata Township in Yibin County is a unique small basin surrounded by hundreds of rocky hills. With warm winters and hot summers, and no frost all year round, it provides the perfect climate for growing litchis. T8r

　　Yibin County, under the jurisdiction of Yibin, has been included in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River fruit development belt. The township of Datata alone has several thousand “Feizixiao” green litchi trees, including 150 trees that are over 100 years old. It produces tens of thousands of kilograms of premium-grade varieties such as Dahongpao and Feizixiao annually. The Southwest Agricultural College once conducted physicochemical analysis on Yibin County’s litchis, finding an average fruit weight of 10.5 grams, with thin skin accounting for 14.2% of the weight, dark brown pits making up 4.25%, and an edible portion of 81.62%. The taste is sweet with crisp flesh. Datata Litchi also won top honors in Sichuan Province’s high-quality fruit competition, ranking first among the province’s premium litchis. T8r

　　To date, there are nearly a thousand ancient litchi and longan trees in Datata Township alone, with over ten thousand newly planted trees developed since the 1990s. The annual yield includes 100,000 jin of premium litchi varieties such as Dahongpao, Feizixiao, Nanmuye, Jiangshalan, Nuomici, Tatidi, and Daivilan, as well as top-quality longan varieties like Shufeng, Shuguan, Luzao, Shixia, Chuliang, and Dawuyuan. T8r

　　Surrounded by mountains and situated in a low-lying area, Datata forms a unique small basin in southern Sichuan. With its warm winters, hot summers, long hours of sunlight, high accumulated temperature, long frost-free period, and minimal seasonal temperature variation—the average temperature here is 2–3°C higher than surrounding areas—the basin’s environment and climate nurture distinctive moist and warm-loving fruits. Datata Litchi is known for its large size, thick flesh, juiciness, pure flavor, a hint of sweetness with slight acidity, long-lasting enjoyment without getting tiresome, and excellent overall quality. The Qing Dynasty poem by Jing Yubi: “As spring ends at the ancient Jingsha ferry, the fragrance of litchis fills Rongzhou,” perfectly captures the essence of Datata Litchi. Within the Datata area, mother trees that are a thousand years old still remain—trees from the same generation as those that bore the litchis tasted by Yang Guifei—making its heritage truly time-honored. T8r