What is Zengcheng Gualv lychee, and why is it so expensive?

June every year is the lychee season, and lychees are not only sweet and refreshing, strengthening the spleen and promoting saliva production, but also moderately priced and deeply loved by the public. Among them there is a kind called Gualv lychee, priced at 555,000 yuan per fruit. So what is Gualv lychee? Why is it so expensive?

1. What is Gualv lychee?

1. Gualv lychee is a rare variety among lychees. Because the fruit shows a mix of red and purple when ripe, with a green streak in the middle of the fruit body, it got the name “Gualv” (hanging green). Gualv is a premium variety among Zengcheng lychees in Guangdong and one of the famous lychee varieties of Guangdong. It was listed as a tribute item in feudal times, so the Gualv lychee generally referred to is actually Zengcheng Gualv.

2. Zengcheng Gualv blooms in early April and matures and goes on the market from late June to early July. The fruit is medium-sized, with an average single-fruit weight of 20 grams; the shell is red with green, four parts slightly green and six parts red, and each lychee is surrounded by a ring of green lines; the flesh is white and crystal clear; the fruit stalk has a small fruitlet like a mung bean; the fruit shoulders on both sides of the stalk are raised, with the side with the small fruitlet slightly higher, called the dragon head, and the other side called the phoenix tail.

3. Gualv lychee has excellent quality, a sweet and refreshing taste, lingering fragrance on the teeth, and a unique flavor. It once sold at auction for a sky-high price of 555,000 yuan per fruit; on August 23, 2012, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for “Zengcheng Gualv”.

2. Why is Gualv lychee so expensive?

1. The reason Gualv lychee is so expensive is mainly that there is only one Gualv tree. According to records, Gualv originated in Siwanggong, Xintang, Zengcheng. Later, during the Jiaqing period, because of harassment by officials, the common people could not bear the burden and cut down all the Gualv lychee trees. Fortunately, only one remained to this day in Xiyuan Temple in the western suburbs of the county seat (now Licheng Gualv Square), so Xiyuan Gualv is extremely precious. To promote the protection and development of Zengcheng Gualv, starting in 1979 the Zengcheng District finance department allocated special funds every year, with dedicated personnel responsible for managing the mother Gualv tree.

2. Unlike other lychees, Gualv lychee cannot be expanded and planted on a large scale. Gualv is delicate and not easy to propagate and promote. Gualv lychee was already cultivated in the 12th century and was a palace tribute in the Qing Dynasty for emperors to taste. According to “Record of the Vicissitudes of Gualv”, since the 1970s, the output of the mother Gualv tree has not been calculated by the jin but by the fruit. To date, the mother Gualv tree is already 400 years old, so Gualv lychee is extremely precious.

3. The Gualv lychees bought on the market today are all fruits from descendant generations of the old Xiyuan Gualv tree, and the general price is around several hundred yuan per jin. However, even with money, it is very difficult to buy Gualv lychee on the market unless you reserve it at an orchard or pay a high price for premium fruit.

The above is an introduction to Gualv lychee. After reading the article, everyone must also understand that the price of Gualv lychee can be several times more expensive than cherries. The most expensive single fruit can cost as much as a house. After all, things are precious when they are rare.