How has the small lychee become the "sweet secret" behind the rising popularity of Guangdong's agricultural products? How has an elderly farmer, who has devoted half a century to lychee cultivation, breathed new life into this Lingnan fruit with a history of more than 2,000 years? With these questions in mind, the reporter visited Yehai Ecological Park for a conversation across time with Ye Qinhai, known as China's "Lychee King."

The first thing one notices in the lychee orchard at Yehai Ecological Park is how "short" the trees are. Even the tallest lychee trees are only about twice a person's height. Their fruit can be picked simply by reaching up, yet the branches are densely laden. This is the result of Ye's renowned cultivation techniques featuring dwarf training, dense planting, early bearing, high yield, stable yield and high quality, which have transformed traditional lychee-growing methods dating back more than two millennia.

In 1987, Ye was honored as China's "Lychee King" by the former Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China for his innovations in lychee cultivation. The cultivation system he developed has made lychee trees "bend lower," while allowing both yield and quality to"stand taller." Under traditional methods, only 12 trees were planted per mu, and it took eight or nine years before they began to bear fruit. In Ye's experimental field, 100 trees can be planted per mu and bear fruit in just three years, significantly increasing output per mu.

In 1992, the technology won the Technological Invention Award at the Beijing International Fair. The following year, it was included in the National Science and Technology Achievement Key Promotion Plan. In 2014, it won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. From an experimental plot of just 3.2 mu to today's 10,000-mu ecological park, Ye has spent half a century cultivating his own "Flowers and Fruit Mountain" from the soil.

Ye told the reporter that this year, more than 800 mu of Feizixiao lychee trees bore fruit, with total output reaching about 1.3 million jin. The yield stood at about 1,500 jin per mu. Although Ye said it was not exactly a bumper year by his standards, it was still a good harvest for the general market, and he has little trouble selling the fruit.

According to the park, Yehai lychees obtained one of Guangdong's first National Green Food certificates as early as 1997, a move that was ahead of its time. Today, as awareness of food safety continues to grow, the word "green" carries a natural sense of market trust. Large volumes of fresh lychees are mainly sold to markets in South China and East China, and are often fully booked early in the picking season. For visitors, the park charges an entrance fee of 30 yuan, while lychees can be taken home at 10 yuan per jin. Many residents effectively "turn their visits into shopping trips," reflecting, in another way, the market recognition enjoyed by Guangdong goods.

At present, Guangdong is using the "Guangdong Goods, Global Reach" Summer Campaign as a driving force to bring its lychees to the global market. By 2025, the province's lychee-growing area had reached 4 million mu, with more than 1.8 million people working in the sector. This small "fruit of sweetness" has become a "fruit of prosperity" that helps increase farmers' incomes.

荔枝红了广货甜了！走进“全国荔枝大王”叶钦海的花果山

小小的荔枝，如何成为广东农产品出圈的“甜蜜密码”？一位坚守荔枝种植半个世纪的老人，如何让拥有两千多年历史的岭南佳果焕发新生？带着这些问题，记者走进叶海生态园，与“全国荔枝大王”叶钦海展开了一场跨越时光的对话。

走进叶海生态园的荔枝园，最直观的感受是“矮”——荔枝树最高不过两人，伸手可摘，挂果却密密麻麻。这正是叶钦海蜚声中外的“矮化、密植、早结、丰产、稳产、优质”栽培技术，让有两千多年历史的荔枝栽培方法得以革新。

1987年，叶钦海因创新荔枝栽培技术，被原国家农业部授予“全国荔枝大王”称号。他创立的栽培体系，让荔枝树“弯下腰”，更让产量和品质“挺起胸”——传统方法一亩种12株、等八年以上才挂果，他的试验田一亩种100株、三年便挂果，亩产大幅提升。

1992年，这套技术拿下北京国际发明奖；次年列入国家级科技成果重点推广计划；2014年再获国家科技进步奖二等奖。从3.2亩的试验田起步，到今日万亩生态园，他用半个世纪的坚持，在土地上种出了一个“花果山”。

叶钦海告诉记者，今年妃子笑结果800多亩，总产量约130万斤，亩产约1500斤，虽然在他看来“不算很大年”，但从社会上来说仍是丰收大年，而他的销售基本不愁。

据介绍，叶海荔枝1997年就拿到了广东省第一批“国家绿色食品”证书，这在当时可谓超前之举。在食品安全意识日益增强的今天，“绿色”二字意味着天然的市场信任。大规模鲜果主要销往华南及华东市场，采摘季一早被预订一空。面向来访游客，园区收取30元门票、带走10元一斤，不少市民“以买代游”，从侧面折射出“广货”品牌的市场认可度。

当前，广东正以“广货行天下”夏季行动为牵引，推动广东荔枝走向国际。2025年，广东全省荔枝种植面积近420万亩，从业人员超180万人。小小的“甜蜜果”，已成为带动农民增收的“致富果”。

文、图｜记者 刘星彤
翻译丨郑奕玲
审校丨曾敏