A hit drama series in China has boosted the popularity of a summer fruit favorite, the lychee.
In the new historical drama, "The Lychee Road" (2025), a low-ranking official is tasked with delivering fresh lychees over 2,500 kilometers from southern China to the imperial palace in Chang'an — all in time for Consort Yang's birthday.
Adapted from a Chinese novel with the same name, the series has captivated audiences with its mix of history and humor. It's also making the real-life fruit a runaway hit this summer.
In Maoming City of south China's Guangdong Province where every fifth lychee in the world comes from, tourism campaigns themed around lychees have gained popularity this year.
"In this year's lychee season, the number of tourists is expected to surge more than 150 percent compared to the same period last year," said Huo Wu, deputy director of Maoming Culture and Tourism Bureau.
And it's not just the orchards feeling the rush. Along an expressway there, a newly opened service area has become a lychee-themed destination. Travelers can sip lychee coffee, send postcards from a lychee post office, and browse for lychee-themed souvenirs, all part of a multi-sensory tribute to the fruit.
Native to southern China, the lychee is loved for its sweet, floral flavor and juicy texture.
Beneath its spiky red skin is a translucent flesh that's packed with vitamin C, antioxidants, and hydration, making it not only delicious but a healthy summer pick-me-up.
In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the lychee season is also in full swing.
The region's famed "Feizixiao" variety, literally "the smile of the beauty", is finishing its harvest, while the beloved "Guiwei" lychees are about to take over.
Online, over 300,000 orders have already been placed, and producers are gearing up for nationwide promotions and even international exports.
"We’re collecting 50,000 kilograms of lychee per day. Our e-commerce orders alone are between 10,000 and 20,000 packages daily," said Chen Huang, tech director of Lingshan Agricultural Company. The fruit has also become a star ingredient in this year's hottest summer drinks. Lychee-flavored teas and juices are dominating sales charts.
"I used to think fruit juice never tasted like the real thing. But this one is different -- it's like biting into a fresh lychee. So juicy and sweet," said Mr. Xu, a lychee juice customer.
Bakeries are also joining the trend with lychee mousse cakes and fruit-filled pastries.
Coffee shops are serving up lychee lattes and even lychee Americanos. Thanks to the hit drama, lychee has been enjoying a starring role both on screen and at the table.
Chinese historical drama boosts summer fruit sales
Communist and leftist party leaders from around the world expressed full support for the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s self-governance approach and anti-corruption drive at a forum in Beijing on Tuesday, calling the practices essential to the Party's vibrant rule and a model worth studying for the rest of the world.
They were in the Chinese capital to attend the 16th World Socialism Forum. Organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the two-day annual event has become a major platform for exchanges among foreign Communist Party leaders, influential leftist social activists, experts, and Chinese Marxist scholars.
This year's forum was convened shortly after the 20th CPC Central Committee concluded its fifth plenary session on Oct 29, which adopted a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance.
The plenary session also called for fortifying the cultural-ethical foundations for championing integrity and disdaining graft, and for enhancing coordinated efforts to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption.
"We've just heard in the opening session this morning, a number of speeches reflecting on the key developments within the fifth plenary session, in particular the whole question of self-reform and party self-governance. And this is critical. Some of the contributions this morning have been really important for me and for other people in this World Socialism Forum, very important contributions because they stress that they have to be deeply rooted in a commitment to the people, they have to be people centered," said Alexander Fraser Gordon, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
"We think that the outcomes of this session is very important for the Party ruling, Marxist vibrant ruling and Marxist party. And we think that the self-governance and anti-corruption plan are very important for the continuous building of a party. And the anti-corruption [campaign] is a very important plan in order to clean the party from any dysfunction," said Said Bakkali, international secretary of the Party of Progress and Socialism in Morocco.
Some participants also shared their insights on how the CPC's experience could contribute to broader global development.
"It's absolutely true that it's open a new window that this in Europe we didn't open yet, which is to say how can we improve political parties, as a working class or populous class representation in our own term, in order to reach a good governance. It's a base that we didn't answer in Europe yet, so I'm seriously sure that this new contribution from China is going to help us open that window," said Marga Ferre, president of Transform!Europe.
"I think that it is very important, for a party to reflect on the [re]form and the self-governance of the party. Because this party has huge responsibilities in China and I would say for the world. And a proper management of the party and an enhanced capacity of self-reform of the party is very, very important. It's not a side issue -- it is probably a central issue," said Vladimiro Giacche, vice president of the Marx 21 Political and Cultural Association.
The forum also featured topics including the impact of the CPC's 105-year history of struggle on the course of world history and global challenges in party governance and China's approach to overcoming difficulties in party development, among others.
Global communist, leftist leaders endorse CPC's self-governance approach at Beijing forum
