Two of the 300 lychee trees in Xiangshan Lake Park already bear strings of red fruit while green fruitlets on the other trees are maturing.

The lychee plantation covers 20,000 sq m (5 acres) by the lakeside in Phase II of the park. It is tended for soil management, irrigation, fertilization, and disease and pest prevention and control. 

Lychee tree with red fruit

The harvested lychee may be sold if there is a bumper crop this year, according to Zhu Chuangfeng, assistant general manager of Zhuhai Xiangzhou Zhengfang Property Management.

Lychee (the "King of Fruits"), banana, pineapple, and longan are the four most common fruits grown in South China. A household story relates how fast horses were ridden to death as couriers raced non-stop from Guangzhou to Xi'an of Shanxi Province, bringing fresh lychees to Yang Yuhuan (719-756), the favorite concubine of Tang Emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712-756), All this was just to win a smile from the beauty! A lychee type named Concubine's Smile can be found at Xiangshan Lake Park.

Located off Jianmin Road, north of West Meihua Road and east of Zhuhai Number 1 High School in New Xiangzhou, Phase I of the park opened to the public on Jan 1, 2019 with a tourist service center, bicycle lane and footpath, lotus pond, covered corridor, entertainment-oriented docks, and bars. The second phase, which opened during the May Day holiday, features thriving nature and campgrounds for recreational vehicles in a classic Lingnan (Cantonese) garden setting.

Lychee plantation extends into lake [Photos by Cheng Lin / Zhujiang Evening Post]