From its plain outside appearance, longan can hardly be associated with the grand analogy its name suggests. "Longan" is the Cantonese word for "dragon eye." It's only when you peel and squeeze out the tempting translucent pulp you understand why it is called "dragon eye."

Every year, longan harvest in south China's Guangdong Province comes as a sweet compensation for people reluctantly saying goodbye to the lychee season. It is usually around July and August when this round and tempting fruit grows in clusters, and its sugary fragrance floats in the air. 

The earliest record of longan cultivation dates back to more than 2,000 years ago in southern China. This ordinary looking plant can live up to 400 years. Therefore, many folklore are also attached to it. In some areas of Guangdong, legend has it that an evil dragon brought floods to villages, and a hero stepped forward to fight and lost his life. People buried the dragon's eye along with the hero's body. The next year a tree grew on the grave, bearing round and juicy fruits like the dragon's eye, hence the name.

Held to be nutritious, longan is widely used in Chinese cuisine and traditional medicine. In Guangdong, people like to condense its sweetness by drying, and prepare a sweet soup, along with other ingredients such as jujube and Chinese wolfberry.

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