Bắc Ninh
Luc Ngan’s sleepless nights as lychee harvest peaks
BAC GIANG – In the stillness of night, farmers in Luc Ngan district (Bac Giang province) begin their new day. With headlamps and flashlights, they weave through lychee orchards, skillfully picking bunches of ripe, crimson fruit to make it in time for early morning sales.
For countless nights, locals have worked under flickering lights, like stars scattered over the sweet-fruit hills—symbols of hope and reward after a full year of careful cultivation.
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Resident of Muoi hamlet, Giap Son commune, lights up the night to harvest lychees. |
At around 2 a.m., under a pale moon, we followed farmers from Muoi village, Giap Son commune, as they headed up the hills to harvest lychees. Dozens of flashing lights created a surreal glow across the orchards. The buzz of conversation, shouts calling between trees, and the background hum of insects broke the silence of the night.
This night, like so many others during lychee season, Tran Van Kien’s entire family—nine members—was on the hill harvesting. Their tools were simple: flashlights, plastic baskets, a motorbike, and several large crates.
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Locals in Muoi hamlet, Giap Son commune, gather ripe lychees during the harvest. |
Even his grandchildren, now on school break, joined to help. Everyone had a role: children and elders plucked leaves, sorted the fruit, bundled clusters and loaded the baskets.
Younger, more agile members climbed trees and clipped the fruit. Despite the dim light, their movements were practiced and efficient. By 5 a.m., their baskets were brimming.
“My family has more than 270 lychee trees. This year, despite early-season drought, the trees bore fruit heavily and beautifully,” said Kien. “We’ve been getting good prices. But harvest time is short—only about 20 days—so we mobilize everyone to pick quickly. We often start at 2 a.m., and on average, we sell about 700 kilograms each morning.”
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Luc Ngan gardens enjoy bumper harvest. |
Once a batch weighs roughly 300 kilograms, Kien loads it onto his motorbike and drives four kilometers to the weighing station in Phi Dien town to sell to traders. “Harvesting at night helps preserve the fruit’s freshness and appearance,” he explained. “Traders usually want to buy early in the morning.”
At the foot of the hills, just as the moon set and dawn began to break, another family in Muoi village was preparing to transport nearly 200 kilograms of lychees to a weighing station along National Highway 31. The fruit was destined for export markets. To gather it, Truong Van Hai and his two family members had stayed up all night.
For lychee growers in Luc Ngan, June is unlike any other time of year. It’s not just the busiest season—it’s a time when daily routines are completely rearranged. Harvest season brings both exhaustion and joy. Each ripe fruit represents hard-earned income. So, sleepless nights and shortened rest are accepted without complaint.
This year, Luc Ngan has over 10,300 hectares of lychee orchards. Of this, more than 6,900 hectares—about 67%—are grown to VietGAP safety standards. The district has seen a sharp rise in output compared to previous years.
But the harvest window is tight—running only from early June to the end of July—putting immense pressure on growers to pick, sort, and sell their fruit quickly. The pace is relentless.
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The early morning in Luc Ngan lychee hub. |
From the start of the season, Luc Ngan has harvested and sold about 8,000 tonnes of fresh lychee. Of this, more than 60% has been consumed domestically, while the remainder was exported—often at higher prices.
Across Luc Ngan, from valley floors to hilltops, lychee farmers are working round the clock. The fruits of their labor are not just the juicy, fragrant lychees shipped off to cities or exported overseas—they are the pride, resilience, and rhythm of life in one of Vietnam’s most productive fruit-growing regions.
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