International influencers discover lychee culture and modern rural transformation in Maoming

In the lead-up to the 15th National Games for the Orienteering event for the masses held in Maoming, GDToday hosted a group media representatives—including major domestic outlets and international influencers—for a cultural and agricultural tour highlighting the city’s lychee industry and rural development achievements.
 

(Photo: Guo Hongda)

The group visited Baiqiao Village in Maoming’s Gaozhou on May 7, exploring landmarks such as the Baiqiao Ancient Lychee Orchard, the China Lychee Expo, and the country’s first lychee-themed expressway service area.

Maoming, a well-known lychee-growing city in south China’s Guangdong Province, has a 2,000-year history of lychee cultivation and boasts the country’s largest lychee planting area—about 93,000 hectares. It is home to three lychee varieties certified with national geographical indications. The city continues to upgrade its full industrial chain—from farming to processing and tourism—with support from government policy and investment.

One key stop was the Gongyuan Orchard in Genzi Town, which features over 30 lychee trees aged more than 500 years and nine over 1,000 years old. The site is recognized as a nationally important agricultural cultural heritage.
 

(Photo: Guo Hongda)

From the orchard to the museum, the international guests were introduced to lychee’s cultural significance—through food, art, and even architecture. Many expressed surprise at how seamlessly modern infrastructure has been woven into Maoming’s rural landscape. “It not what I expected for farmlands,” said Sunny Chen, an international student from Cananda and a vlogger.