The Nanshan lychee harvest season officially kicked off on June 6 as the early-maturing Feizixiao variety made its sweet debut, signaling the start of a harvest that is expected to bring 5,000 tons of fresh fruit to the market.

Nanshan-produced lychees are the first in China to receive national geographical indication (GI), a protected status similar to that of Champagne in France. Mid-to-late maturing varieties, including Nuomici and Guiwei, are expected to appear around June 15, extending the harvest and sales period into early July.

On the first day of its launch, the order volume for Feizixiao was expected to be four to five thousand kilograms. “At 5 o’clock in the morning, workers began harvesting,” said Zeng Yani, an agronomist at Xili Orchard. 

Feizixiao — known for its thick and juicy meat, moderate sour and sweet taste, and good storage and preservation properties — is well-suited for long-distance transportation, making it highly competitive in the international market. This year’s expected production of Feizixiao is 50,000 kilograms, with the best tasting fruit lasting until mid-June.

On June 6, inside the low-temperature packaging and processing facility at Xili Orchard, a busy scene unfolded as workers graded and sorted freshly picked Feizixiao and packed them with ice.

In the sales area outside the workshop, express delivery companies such as SF Express and JD.com had arrived, and boxes of fresh lychees were immediately packaged and sent to various parts of the country.

Xili Orchard, a demonstration base for lychee production in Nanshan, manages three lychee production baseswith a total area of nearly 133.33 hectares — the Xili headquarters (Niucheng) base, the Nanshan lychee Yueliang Bay demonstration park, and the Lilin demonstration park.