On the evening of July 19th, the 2024 Sichuan Eco-tourism Event and the 33rd Hejiang Litchi Season kicked off in Hejiang, Luzhou City, the hometown of late-maturing litchi in China.

Opening Ceremony [Photo by Ma Junjie]

At the opening ceremony, a series of splendid singing and dancing performances, including "The Magical Journey of Little Bijia," "Tang Li," and "Poetry and Prose of Hejiang," delighted the audience with a unique audiovisual feast exclusive to the Litchi City. The rap performance "I Am from Hejiang, I Love Hejiang" further elevated the atmosphere to a climax, as thousands of people gathered at the Litchi Culture Square, jointly expressing their love for their hometown.

Awarding Ceremony [Photo by Ma Junjie]

In July 2024, after the South Subtropical Crops Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and the China Litchi and Longan Research System came to Hejiang for their investigations and evaluations, the city was recognized as the "World's Leading Region Center for Late-Maturing Litchi." During the opening ceremony, Li Hongli, the Deputy Chief Expert of the system, announced the evaluation results. The event also honored Lijiang Town as the "First Town of Late-Maturing Litchi in China" through an award ceremony. Also, the ceremony awarded plaques to representatives of local outstanding guest houses, including the Chishuihe Manor of Xianshi Soy Sauce, Chenjia Dayuan, and Longguashan·Banshan Yunshe. Additionally, the Education Department and Sports Bureau of the county presented certificates and soy sauce donation cards to student representatives as promotional ambassadors for the "Soy Sauce Aroma in the Litchi City Accompanies Your Growth" public welfare campaign.

Hejiang is renowned as the "Hometown of Late-Maturing Litchi in China." In 2015, the cultivated area of litchi in the city reached 306,000 mu (about 20,400 hectares), and for now over 70% of the land has been put into production. In 2023, the output reached 38 million kilograms, with a production value of 2.45 billion yuan, accounting for more than 90% of the province's total. It is estimated that the output will reach 50 million kilograms in 2024. With the support of cold chain technology, an increasing number of e-commerce platforms have joined the lychee sales force, enabling tens of millions of lychees to travel beyond Sichuan, reaching across the country and even the world. Hejiang litchi have become a distinctive industry that promotes the local people's income and facilitates comprehensive rural revitalization.(By Zhu Mingjing)