In the summer, while Moc Chau offers the experience of picking plums, Bac Giang also offers the experience of picking lychees and enjoying them right in the orchard.
On the morning of June 13th, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuong (22 years old) and her friends rode their motorbikes for about two hours from Hanoi to pick lychees in an orchard in Dong Giao village, Quy Son commune, Luc Ngan district. It was Thuong's first time admiring such a large lychee orchard, approximately 5 hectares in size, with trees 5-10 meters tall and shaped like raspberries, planted in rows. The trees had many leaves, so the fruit wasn't clearly visible from afar. But upon closer inspection, the clusters of lychees were almost completely ripe. Some branches were heavily laden with fruit, requiring sticks to support the fruit and prevent it from rotting.
Luc Ngan and Tan Yen are two key lychee-growing districts in Bac Giang province, the "lychee capital," covering nearly 30,000 hectares. In April 2023, the Asian Record Organization recognized Luc Ngan lychees as a Vietnamese specialty that achieved an Asian record according to the Asian culinary value criteria. Visiting Luc Ngan district, tourists can easily see rolling hills of neatly planned lychee orchards. Every year, at this time, the roads in Luc Ngan are dyed red by trucks carrying harvested lychees.
Trucks carrying harvested lychees are busy on the roads of Luc Ngan, Bac Giang. Photo: Tran Anh Tuan.
Bac Giang province is promoting lychee orchard tourism to boost sales and consumption of lychees. Currently, Luc Ngan district has over 200 lychee-growing cooperatives that welcome visitors and provide food, accommodation, and entertainment services. Tours in Luc Ngan district combine lychee orchard experiences with visits to scenic spots such as Cam Son Lake, Khuon Than Lake, Am Vai Pagoda, streams, and mountains.
"I would just take pictures and then peel and eat the lychees right away. The flesh is thick and creamy white. When you bite into it, it's juicy, sweet, and fragrant, making me want to devour a whole kilogram, but I had to restrain myself because I was afraid of getting too much heat in my body," Thuong shared about her experience in the lychee orchard.
The lychee branches are low, so you can easily pick the fruit by reaching up. The lychees are large, bright red, and stand out whether viewed with the naked eye or in a photograph.
Thuong said that enjoying lychees right in the orchard is more enjoyable and delicious than eating them bought from the market or supermarket. Fresh lychees eaten from the orchard have a more refreshing and sweet taste, while those bought from outside tend to be slightly sour.
The experience of picking lychees in Luc Ngan gave Thuong the feeling of returning to the orchards of the Mekong Delta to pick fruit. "Going to the orchard to pick lychees allows you to eat the fruit and take beautiful photos for social media. It would be even better if you could lie in a hammock under the lychee trees, reaching up to pick the fruit to eat," Thuong shared.
Thuong also bought lychees as souvenirs. One kilogram of lychees bought directly from the orchard costs 30,000 dong, and if you buy 20 kilograms or more, the price is 20,000 dong. Before that, Thuong had already bought an entrance ticket for 60,000 dong.
According to Thuong, this is a suitable weekend experience, and can be done in a single day. The best time to visit during lychee season is in the morning, but note that you should eat breakfast before eating lychees. Eating lychees on an empty stomach causes a sudden spike in blood sugar, easily leading to "lychee intoxication," dizziness, nausea, and lightheadedness. Thuong herself experienced stomach upset after eating lychees, so the whole group rested and had an early lunch. According to the Bac Giang Department of Health's online portal, adults should not eat more than 10 lychees, and children should only eat 3-4. If you experience intoxication, drink a glass of sugar water to improve the situation.
Representatives of the lychee orchard where the experience takes place said that the lychee picking activity attracts visitors of all ages, both domestic and foreign, including independent travelers and companies/organizations organizing team-building events. Weekends are the busiest time, with an estimated average of 500-1,000 visitors.
In about 10 days, the lychees in the orchards and hills will ripen. The lychee season only lasts about 2-3 weeks. Most tours are organized during this time, which is the peak season, so tourists need to take advantage of the opportunity to experience it. The lychee season will end near the end of July.
Thanh Thuong experienced picking lychees for the first time in her lychee-growing hometown of Luc Ngan, Bac Giang. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
According to a representative of the Thanh Hai Experiential Tourism Cooperative (Garden Viet) in Bong 2 village, Thanh Hai commune, Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province, in addition to picking lychees, tourists can experience camping in lychee orchards; participate in night lychee picking tours at 1-2 am with locals; take boat trips to take photos and visit lychee-growing islands on the lake; and participate in harvesting beeswax and collecting lychee flower honey manually with the locals.
In addition, visitors can enjoy local cuisine and famous specialties such as free-range chicken, horse meat rolls, Chu noodles, shrimp and fish, lychee honey, and dishes and drinks made from lychee.
Quynh Mai
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