Thanh Ha lychee - A precious gift for foreigners

Many foreign tourists enjoy visiting Thanh Ha lychee gardens

Thanh Ha district has welcomed hundreds of visitors, including about two dozen foreign groups, since the beginning of the lychee season.

Ekimoto Kunie, a Japanese tourist, excitedly visited a lychee growing region in the district’s Thanh Thuy commune for the first time in mid-June.

She gently touched the rough trunk of a lychee tree and couldn’t help marveling at branches laden with red-ripened fruits.

“Japan’s soil is not suitable to grow lychee, so the fruit is only available sometimes at supermarkets but very expensive. Freshly-picked lychees taste really different,” Ekimoto joyfully said.

She guessed that long shipping time was the reason for lychees to somewhat lose their flavor upon arrival in her country.

Ekimoto and her friends could buy only a few fresh lychees for eating on their way back to Ha Noi because of their hasty trip.

She regretted that she did not have time to buy lychees for her relatives at home.

Foreign visitors to Thanh Ha, the hometown of lychee, can not only enjoy delicious fruits but also try harvesting them.

A Finnish tourist stepped out of Dong Man orchard in Thanh khe commune with a cheerful face. His shirt was drenched in sweat from picking lychees.

“I am very happy to be able to pick lychees by myself. It was a wonderful experience. I have never eaten such a tasty fruit,” he said while holding a bunch of lychees in his hand.

Hoang Van Luom, the custodian of the ancestral lychee tree reserve in Thuy Lam hamlet, Thanh Son commune, said a lot of foreign tourists were surprised at the tree’s age of nearly 200 years and wished to try its fruits.

A Japanese visitor tries picking lychees

Nguyen Van Hung lives and works in Russia but returns home in Hai Duong city every Lunar New Year and June, the harvest season of lychee.

Every time Hung comes back, he asks a friend in Thanh Ha to buy 20 kg of lychees as gifts for other friends in Russia.

“It’s been the same for more than 20 years. Anything can be missed but Thanh Ha lychees,” said Hung.

Lychee is mainly harvested in May and June, and no later than the first days of July.

The short harvest season makes lychee both precious and rare. Gourmets will want to buy some as gifts at any cost wherever they are if knowing lychee.

Besides exports, Ameii Vietnam JSC. has received many orders for lychees from Central organizations and bodies for presentation to foreign guests, according to Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors Nguyen Khac Tien.

“We received good feedback after every delivery. Foreign guests really liked Thanh Ha lychee. This is a driving force for us to care more for the fruit,” said Tien.

Last crop, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with the provincial People’s Committee to take a delegation of the ASEAN Women's Circle leaders and ambassadors of Sweden, Pakistan, Timor Leste, Egypt, Belarus, Venezuela, Morocco, Palestine, etc. to Vietnam to Thanh Ha lychee gardens.

The event contributed to helping Thanh Ha lychee approach further markets in the world and become a favorite of foreign tourists.

MN