Longans are fully ripe in Gaozhou, Maoming, during the midsummer month of July.
Gaozhou is the birthplace of the world-famous Chuliang longan and a key longan production hub across China. It has 330,000 mu (22,000 hectares) of longan orchards. Thanks to favorable climatic conditions this year, the city's fresh longan output is projected to hit 322,000 tons, up 20 percent year on year.
Gaozhou has a history of longan cultivation spanning over 2,000 years. It has bred top-tier domestic longan varieties, such as Chuliang and Shuangzimu. In particular, Chuliang longan has won a gold medal at the China Agricultural Expo.
Gaozhou longan boasts crisp, juicy flesh and a clean, sweet flavor, without fibrous residue. Generally dried into longan flesh, it is reputed as the "Southern Ginseng", a premium ingredient valued for both culinary and medicinal uses. Widely used in soups, sweet soups, tea infusions and pastries, it is traditionally believed to help tonify the heart and spleen, nourish the blood and soothe the nerves.
Author | Qiu Qian
Photos | Feng Zhang
