As the 2026 Guangdong City Basketball League (Yue BA) is underway, we're launching a poster series that examines the game through the lens of Guangdong manufacturing.
Each edition highlights one city of Guangdong and the signature product that defines its industrial DNA. Now, the series continues with Maoming, Zhaoqing and Qingyuan, the cities known for top-quality goods.
Maoming, the city with a taste to remember.
Maoming Lychee: Score More
Gaozhou lychees are renowned for their superior quality, earning the city the title "Hometown of Lychees." The region is noted for its vast plantations, diverse varieties, and well-staged harvest seasons. Signature varieties such as Baitangying, Feizixiao, and Guiwei are highly acclaimed globally for their vibrant colors and excellent taste.
This exceptional quality stems from over 2,200 years of cultivation. The Gongyuan Orchard, the nation's largest and best-preserved ancient lychee grove, hosts 39 trees over 500 years old, including nine exceeding 1,300 years. Its 3,700 trees yield an annual harvest of over 50,000 kilograms.
Sustained high quality is driven by technological empowerment. Gaozhou enhances competitiveness through variety improvement and technical innovation, promoting premium types while introducing new ones. Furthermore, breakthroughs in cold-chain technology and logistics ensure farm-to-table freshness.
Zhaoqing, the city where savoring leads to abundance.
Zhaoqing Zongzi: Worthy Winner
Zhaoqing Guozheng Zong is a classic Cantonese delicacy and one of the three famous zongzi in Lingnan. Wrapped in local Phrynium leaves and slow-cooked for hours, the glutinous rice becomes soft, the mung beans melt in the mouth, and the pork belly stays rich but not greasy, all infused with a refreshing herbal fragrance.
Its excellence lies in meticulous sourcing and craftsmanship. The local Phrynium leaves are broad and fragrant, while the filling uses fresh late-season rice and hulled mung beans for a smoother texture. After marinating the pork belly with five-spice powder, the zongzi is boiled over high heat for over eight hours, fully integrating the leaf's aroma into the ingredients.
Today, quality is maintained through a blend of tradition and standardization. Local enterprises have established supply bases to regulate cultivation standards for leaves and rice. While retaining traditional hand-wrapping, they have introduced automated steaming and vacuum packaging. Official regional standards now oversee the entire process, ensuring this heritage food scales up without losing its authentic flavor.
Qingyuan, the city where flavor is supreme.
Qingyuan Chicken: Game Fit
Qingyuan Chicken is a specialty of Qingyuan, Guangdong, and ranks among China's "Four Famous Chickens." When cooked, it offers a rich aroma and crispy skin, making it the premier choice for Cantonese dishes like White Cut Chicken and Soy Sauce Chicken.
Its superior quality stems from the local environment and free-range methods. Raised in the temperate, forested hills along the Beijiang River, the chickens roam freely, feeding on grains and insects while drinking mountain spring water. A long growth cycle of over 120 days allows flavors to fully develop, resulting in its signature firm and savory texture.
Modern Qingyuan Chicken maintains its excellence through breed preservation and standardized farming. Local conservation farms prevent crossbreeding to maintain pure bloodlines, while a "company + farmer" model standardizes chicks, feed, and epidemic prevention. A quality traceability system monitors the entire process, from egg to market, ensuring that large-scale production never compromises its authentic flavor.
Author & Poster: Liu Yue
