Dragon fruit, also known as Liangtianchi, is a tropical and subtropical fruit. Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, known as the “Green City of China” and a recipient of the “UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor Award”, is located in southern Guangxi and situated in the South Asian tropical monsoon climate zone, with abundant sunshine, rainfall, and fertile soil. This unique geographical environment is very conducive to the growth of tropical and subtropical fruit trees. Nanning’s dragon fruit, bananas, orah mandarins, and other fruit products are renowned throughout China. According to “Yongning Yearbook”, in the early 1990s, with the adjustment of Nanning’s fruit variety structure, Nanning began to introduce and trial plant dragon fruit from Vietnam, Taiwan, and other places, and achieved success. After 1997, Nanning’s dragon fruit gradually developed from sporadic planting to industrialized production. In recent years, Nanning’s dragon fruit has developed rapidly. In 2016, Nanning initiated the construction of a dragon fruit standardization system and established Nanning Dragon Fruit Production and Marketing Alliance. In 2019, Nanning applied for the agricultural product geographical indication for dragon fruit. Currently, the planting area and output of dragon fruit in Nanning rank first in Guangxi, making it the largest production area of dragon fruit in Guangxi.

The appearance of Nanning’s dragon fruit has scales resembling a dragon, and when its huge flowers bloom, they emit a fragrant aroma; its flesh is delicate, sweet, and smooth, and the pulp is rich in thousands of more than 10,000 sesame-like seeds. When the entire pulp is blended with honey, fresh milk, and ice to make juice, taken in one sip, the aroma of the crushed seeds fills the mouth and nose, refreshing the heart. Dragon fruit can also be made into ice cream and jelly, with excellent flavor. In April 2020, “Nanning’s dragon fruit” was granted protection and registration as a geographical indication of agricultural products. In 2024, the Market Supervision Administration of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region promoted the application for protection of Nanning’s dragon fruit as a geographical indication product through a unified certification method.

In recent years, Nanning’s dragon fruit industry has become one of the three major advantageous and characteristic fruit industries in Nanning. By the end of 2023, the planting area had been 189,200 mu (accounting for approximately 55.52% of that of Guangxi), with a production volume of 0.4616 million tons (accounting for approximately 64.04% of that of Guangxi) and an output value of 3.951 billion yuan (accounting for approximately 72.12% of that of Guangxi). The industrial scale ranks first in China, making it the largest dragon fruit production base in China. The unique and excellent quality has continuously enhanced the popularity of Nanning’s dragon fruit products, which are sold throughout the country, as well as in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries, with products in short supply.