The journey of a lychee from a tree in Guangdong to a dining table in Shanghai is reflective of China's evolving economy, where technology extends products' shelf life and opens up new markets, and scale reduces costs and makes quality produce more widely accessible. As lychees become a summer staple across the country, they tell a bigger story about the resilience of the Chinese economy and the construction of a truly unified national market.

　　The author is vice-dean of the International School of Business and Finance, Sun Yatsen University.

　　The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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