Soon, lychee will enter the peak period of listing. This year, the total area of lychee planting in Huizhou City is about 378,700 mu, with a flowering rate of more than 88%, and the output of lychee is expected to exceed 100,000 tons, which is a medium-to-upper year. Among the many lychees in Lingnan, Huizhou lychees are more famous. In Pengling Village, Shuikou Street, Huicheng District, there is a 670-year-old lychee tree, which carries rich historical information, records the historical inheritance and continuation of local villagers, and has also become a rural cultural attraction.
The mountain behind the Zhong's ancestral hall in Dalinggang, Pengling Village, Shuikou, is called "Fengling", standing majestically, and there is a lychee tree at the southern foothill, with a straight trunk and pavilions. Locals call it "Hezhi", which is native to Huizhou. In the height of summer, the lush branches are covered with small green fruits, and in another month, the lychee fruits will turn red, and this ancient lychee tree will usher in another year of harvest. The ancient lychee tree is protected by a fence around the perimeter, and a "National Ancient Tree Protection Level 1" sign plate printed by the People's Government of Huicheng District in October 2022 is hung on the tree, with an age of "670 years".
Ancient tree resources are not only precious natural and cultural heritage, but also an important carrier for inheriting historical culture, regional culture and humanistic customs. This ancient lychee tree records the historical inheritance and continuation of the Zhong family in Dalinggang. According to villagers' oral accounts and spy records, this lychee tree was planted by Zhong Ziliang, the ancestor of Dalinggang Village.
Yan Xueling, women's director of the Pengling Village Committee of Shuikou Street: "It is said that the ancestor of the Zhong family went to feed the ducks, and when he happened to see Mr. Geography, he invited Mr. Geography to his house and killed the only old hen to entertain him. Mr. Geography thought that the family was so good, but there was nothing good to give him, so he thought of a clever plan and asked him to plant a fruit tree next to it, and this lychee tree has continued to this day. ”
In order to protect this lychee tree planted by Kaiji ancestor, the descendants of the surname Zhong in Dalinggang Village have spared no effort. According to the villagers, during the 1962 drought, the roots of the lychee trees were exposed and malnourished, and the villagers dug up the silt from the feng shui pond in front of the ancestral hall and transported it to the back mountain to fertilize the lychee tree. In 2015, the villagers of Dalinggang Village and the descendants of Zhong Ziliang in the surrounding villages donated money to build a lychee tree wall to strengthen the hillside and tree roots.
Under the care and cherishing of generations of villagers, this ancient lychee tree is still flourishing and bears fruit every year. Because this ancient tree "sits in town", tourists often go to Dalinggang to seek seclusion and visit the ancient times, ask about the stories of ancient lychees, or take a cool seat under the tree, and have a thousand reveries.