Chinese lychee bears sweetness in Mexican homes

MEXICO CITY — While China is in the depths of summer, Mexico enters its rainiest season of the year. During breaks between rainfall, crowds hit the streets for sunshine and a sweet fruit from China — lychee.

For many visitors to Mexico, lychee is something they don't expect to see. However, the sweet, fleshy fruit is a popular item on households' seasonal grocery lists.

Few know that lychee trees have grown in Mexico for over a millennium. In the late 19th century, hundreds of Chinese workers migrated to Mexico, and many settled in Sinaloa on the northwest coast. Local legend says the first lychee trees were cultivated with seeds taken from the migrants' homeland and were gifted to Sinaloa's governor.