In Fenjie town, Gaozhou, a county-level city in Maoming, the right to pick longan fruit from a Chuliang mother tree was sold at the high price of 730,000 yuan ($107,935) after more than 80 bids were submitted in 2022.

Gaozhou is one of the places where longans originated in. The earliest history of longan cultivation can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) more than 2,200 years ago.

Gaozhou is a high-quality longan producing area in China. Chuliang Longan in Gaozhou won the Gold award of the First China International Modern Agricultural Exhibition, the title of famous brand product of the China International Modern Agricultural Exhibition, and first place in Guangdong province's famous longan products. Chuliang Longan meat and dried longan are nationally famous, special, and high-quality new agricultural products. Chuliang Longan is a national geographical indication protection product.

Gaozhou has a longan planting area of 320,000 mu (21,333 hectares) and an annual output of more than 180,000 metric tons. It is the largest longan-growing county in the province and in the country. Its longan production accounts for one-fifth of Guangdong's total and one-tenth of the national longan production.

Gaozhou has built the only provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park in Guangdong, which primarily serves the longan industry. In addition, Gaozhou is also the processing and sales distribution center of domestic and foreign fresh and dried longan fruit.

People like Chuliang Longans in Gaozhou. [Photo/Nanfang plus]