In order to allow international students in China to gain a deeper understanding of Lingnan culture and personally experience the joy of lychee picking with unique Zengcheng characteristics, on June 26, 2026, led by counselor Hao Zixiu and teachers from the International Student Management Office, more than 10 international students from five countries including Afghanistan, Russia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, along with American teacher ROBERT DONALD WOLFE, walked into the lychee orchard to taste the high-quality lychee variety "Xianjin Feng" during the harvest season in Zengcheng.
Zengcheng lychee has a long history of cultivation, spanning over a thousand years. As a late-maturing excellent variety that has been heavily promoted locally in recent years, "Xianjin Feng" is currently in its best tasting period. In the orchard, red fruits hang from the branches, with a heart-shaped appearance and brightly colored peels, making one's mouth water. Foreign students and foreign teachers gather under the trees, listening to the teacher explain the characteristics of the variety and picking techniques, while eagerly picking up scissors. Everyone quickly grasped the trick of judging the maturity of the fruit by observing the prickliness and color of the peel, and laughter resounded throughout the orchard.
Mike, who came from Russia, carefully cut off a bunch of plump fruits, peeled off the thin skin, and praised them endlessly. He immediately took pictures with his phone of the tree tops laden with red fruits and the crystal-clear flesh. He said excitedly, "I'm going to send the video to my family, so they can see how spectacular the Chinese lychee trees are and how sweet the flesh is! I really want to share this sweetness with my friends and relatives, so they can taste the most authentic Guangzhou flavor." During the break, everyone uploaded photos and short videos to their respective social platforms, allowing their distant friends and relatives to feel the tempting color and fragrance of Lingnan's delicious fruits through the screen.
The person in charge of the orchard stated that the recent period is the peak season for picking "Xianjin Feng" (a type of fruit), and the arrival of the overseas student experience group has not only injected vitality into rural fruit-picking tourism but also promoted cultural exchanges and interactions between China and foreign countries. American teacher ROBERT DONALD WOLFE expressed his sentiments during the event: "This immersive experience of touching and tasting firsthand conveys the vivid charm of Chinese agricultural culture more effectively than any description in a book."
Such outdoor practical activities are not only an effective extension of classroom education but also a vivid classroom for the localization training of overseas students in China. Through hands-on picking, the overseas students truly perceive China's local customs and farming wisdom. In the zero-time lag experience of "from the branch to the tongue", they feel the richness and craftsmanship of Lingnan's local culture. Those red and juicy fruits, sweet juices, and laughter under the trees not only remain in their photos but will also precipitate as the sweetest page in their memories of China. Through their sharing, the story of "China's Litchi Town" will spread to a wider world.
