The Magic of 2 a.m. in Bac Giang: A Decade of Unprecedented Scenes.

North Bac Giang residents wake up as early as 2 AM to harvest lychees during the peak season

In the final days of June, lychee orchards in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province, enter the peak harvest season. Hundreds of hectares of lychee trees are ready for picking, and farmers are hard at work to gather the fruit. To sell their produce to traders early in the morning at a good price, many households have to wake up as early as 2 or 3 AM to pluck the lychees, carefully arrange them in baskets, and then transport them to weighing stations or purchasing points.

For families with few members, the lychee harvest starts in the afternoon or evening before. Around 3 AM the next day, they wake up again to continue harvesting enough lychees for the day’s sale.

At 3 AM on June 25, in the lychee-growing area of Luc Ngan district, small flashlight beams could be seen flickering across the orchards like fireflies in the night. Groups of people took advantage of the cool weather to harvest the lychees, their hands skillfully cutting clusters of ripe, red fruit.

Mr. Dinh Huu Tieu (48 years old, Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province) shared, “In the past ten years, there hasn’t been a year with such a bountiful lychee harvest as this one. But with a good harvest comes low prices, so I dare not hire extra help because that would eliminate any profit.”

According to Mr. Tieu, his family has eight members, so they have to do all the work themselves. “Every day, we start harvesting in the late afternoon, and then around 3 AM the next morning, we wake up again to continue picking enough lychees to sell at the market. If we wait until noon, the traders will have already bought enough lychees from other sources, and we’ll be forced to sell at a lower price. Not to mention, the midday sun causes the fruit to wither, and they’re not as fresh as the ones picked at dawn,” he explained.

After being plucked, the lychees are carefully sorted and their stems trimmed. They are then neatly stacked in baskets. As dawn breaks, motorbikes and tricycles laden with baskets of lychees, weighing between 170 and 200 kg, hurry towards the weighing stations or wholesale markets.

Navigating steep and rocky roads in the dark, the farmers endure the challenging conditions to make a living. Despite the potential risks of slippery paths and accidents, they persist in their efforts.

Mr. Nguyen Van Truong, from Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province, shared that due to having only three family members, they have to start harvesting in the afternoon. Around 2 AM the next morning, he and his wife wake up to harvest more lychees, preparing for the first sale of the day.

According to some traders, the current price of lychees ranges from 7,000 to 12,000 VND/kg, depending on their appearance. After being purchased by traders, the lychees are transported to various provinces and cities across the country and even abroad.

Despite the hardships, the farmers are delighted when their fresh and beautiful lychees are sold at good prices.