The first stop of the Guangdong provincial lychee production and marketing matchmaking event is scheduled to take place in Gaozhou, a county-level city in Maoming, from April 24 to 25.

Due to the continuous low temperatures and "freeze-dry" weather last winter and this spring, this year will be an abundant year for Gaozhou lychees. The yield of the fruit is estimated to reach between 220,000 metric tons to 250,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of more than 10 percent.

Gaozhou lychees. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

A lychee brand marketing campaign was launched in Gaozhou in March. This includes events such as a lychee origin tracing experience and a production and marketing matchmaking event in April; a lychee-picking live-stream in early May; and a lychee focused marketing event in Shanghai and Beijing in mid-May.

Gaozhou's lychee planting history can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). It currently has a lychee planting area of 550,000 mu (36,666.67 hectares), and boasts a yearly lychee yield of more than 200,000 metric tons, accounting for one tenth of global production. The city is hence dubbed the "hometown of lychee in China".

The city has formed a relatively complete lychee industrial chain covering production, processing, storage, cold chain logistics, sales, product development, brand building, cultural creativity, and leisure tourism.

Express companies sort, pack and deliver of fresh lychee fruit in Gaozhou's lychee picking season. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]