Leshan City, Sichuan Province: The Thousand-year-old Lychee Village Creates a New Form of Rural Tourism

Lizhiwan (literally meaning "bay of lychees") Village, Yuelai Town, Leshan City, Sichuan Province, is named for its abundance of lychees. According to research, the village has a history of lychee cultivation for more than 1,000 years. At present, there are still 429 ancient lychee trees in Lizhiwan Village, including 12 lychee trees that are more than a thousand years old.

Panorama of Lizhiwan Village [Photo via Propaganda Department of CPC Leshan Shizhong District Committee]

Harvested Lychees [Photo via Propaganda Department of CPC Leshan Shizhong District Committee]

In recent years, Lizhiwan Village has deeply integrated lychee cultural resources and Pingqiang “Small Three Gorges” cultural and tourism resources, with lychee planting as its leading industry. By building a 10,000-mu (about 6.67 square kilometers) lychee picking base, facilitated by the forms of lychee picking festivals, lychee tourism and culture festivals, etc., villagers can make profits without leaving their homes. 

Villagers Harvesting Lychees [Photo via Propaganda Department of CPC Leshan Shizhong District Committee]

It is reported that the annual output of lychees in Lizhiwan Village ranges 200,000 to 250,000 kilograms, with an annual output value of more than CNY 10 million. The village has held five consecutive lychee tourism and culture festivals, attracting in total nearly one million tourists, and gradually forming an industrial route with fruit picking as its core and to promote agricultural development through tourism.

In the next stage, Lizhiwan village will invest 1 million yuan to build a farming training base. Through the farming courses, tourists can deeply experience farming culture and the form of rural tourism can be further enriched.