The Lychee Road

The Lychee Road
Simplified Chinese长安的荔枝
Traditional Chinese長安的荔枝
Hanyu PinyinCháng'ān dě Lìzhī
Directed byDong Chengpeng
Written byShen Yuyue
Dai Si'ao
Dong Chengpeng
Based onThe Lychee Road by Ma Boyong
Produced byLi Yaping
Zhang Bo
StarringDong Chengpeng
Bai Ke
Zhuang Dafei
Terrance Lau
CinematographyWang Boxue
Edited byTu Yiran
Huangzeng Hongchen
Production
companies
Guangdong Aimei Film and Television Co., Ltd.
Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Beijing Yuanqi Entertainment Culture Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Ruyi Film and Television Production Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Tacheng Film Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Huaren Film Co., Ltd.
Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd.
Dongyang Xingyong Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd.
Distributed byAimmedia Pictures
Release date
  • 18 July 2025 (2025-07-18)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box office$31.7 million USD (as of July 21, 2025)[1]

The Lychee Road (Chinese: 长安的荔枝) is a 2025 Chinese historical comedy film co-written, directed and starring by Dong Chengpeng.[2][3] The film is an adaptation of Ma Boyong's novel of the same name, follows the story of an official named Li Shande responsible for transporting lychees from the Lingnan region to Chang'an, capital of the Tang Empire.[4][5] The film premiered in China on 18 July 2025. [6]

Plot

Set during the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, the story follows Li Shande, a minor official in Chang’an, who is unwittingly assigned the impossible task of delivering fresh lychees from Lingnan to Chang’an for Yang Guifei’s birthday, roughly 2,000 km away. At first, he celebrates the opportunity — until he discovers the word “preserved” on his edict was glued on, hiding the real demand: “fresh.” Knowing lychees rot in three days, he tries to refuse, but it’s too late. Fearing for his family, he fails to divorce his wife and instead departs quickly.

In Lingnan, Li Shande seeks help from He Qiguang, the local commissioner, but is beaten and given a slave instead. He meets Su Liang, a Persian merchant, and experiments with methods to preserve lychees, discovering they can last only a few days even under the best conditions. With no choice, he devises a plan using double-layered jars and a relay system combining land and river routes. However, all test runs fail.

He returns to Chang’an to request funding, but is turned away by every bureau. Finally, Right Chancellor Yang Guozhong grants him a golden token, a seal of absolute authority. Li Shande mobilises government resources, utilises ice boats, and establishes an empire-wide relay system. Yet upon returning to Lingnan, he finds the villagers distressed about the government cutting 200 lychee trees, not the planned 20.

As the shipment begins, early relays succeed, but midway, they discover the relay stations abandoned. With no other option, Li Shande and a few assistants push forward manually. Horses collapse, supplies run low, and the journey grows dire. At the final river dock, Su Liang reappears, saving the mission with his ship.

Approaching Chang’an, assassins ambush the group. Traps and fire bombs destroy most of the convoy. The slave sacrifices himself to save Li Shande during a desperate cliffside fight. With one last lychee jar, Li Shande escapes on horseback and charges through the flames.

At evening, Li Shande gallops into Chang’an as flowers requested by his wife scatter from his bag. His family cheers as he delivers the lychees to the palace just in time for Yang Guifei’s birthday.

Later, he confronts Yang Guozhong about the mission’s true cost. Guozhong assaults him, but Gao Lishi intervenes, awarding Li Shande green plums, sparing his life. However, for failing to deliver the full quota, he and his family are exiled to Lingnan.

In exile, Li Shande learns Chang’an has fallen to An Lushan. He breaks down, grieving all he gave up. His wife comforts him with a new wine — a final, quiet moment of peace after a journey of impossible odds.

Cast

Production

Shooting began on 3 November 2024 and took place in various locations including Xiangyang, Yangjiang, Dongguan, Luoding, and Jiangmen.[3]

Release

The Lychee Road was initially released fully in China on the 18th of July, 2025.[7] Later, it was released in Australia on the 24th of July[8], the United States limitedly on 25th of July, Singapore on 31st of July, and Hong Kong on the 7th of August 2025.[7] The movie has multiple titles that it can be known by, such as Chang'an De Li Zhi (Pinyin form of the Chinese title, 长安的荔枝), and The Litchi Road.[7] It is rated M (mature) in Australia[8] due to mature themes and violence.[9]

Reception

After being released, "China’s box office surged over the July 18–20 weekend"[1] and dominated the leaderboard. Some people critique the movie as being able to resonate with modern youth in the workplace as it blended "historical legend with modern workplace satire and relatable personal struggles."[10]

Ma Boyang, the original author of the novel Lychees of Chang'an attended the premiere and praised the film as "more layered and emotionally resonant" than his novel.[10]

See Also

Lychees of Chang'an, the original novel that the movie was based on by Ma Boyong.[11][7][12]

References

  1. ^ a b "China Box Office: 'The Lychee Road' at No. 1 as Local Films Rule". variety.com. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  2. ^ James Marsh (2025-08-04). "The Lychee Road movie review: Da Peng takes aim at corruption in rollicking comedy drama". Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  3. ^ a b Zhouhui Xiaowan (周慧晓婉) (2024-11-04). 大鹏导演电影《长安的荔枝》开机，呈现马伯庸笔下唐朝小人物奇遇. bjnews.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  4. ^ Naman Ramachandran (2025-07-21). "China Box Office: 'The Lychee Road' Debuts at No. 1 as Local Titles Dominate". variety. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  5. ^ 《长安的荔枝》定档暑期，大鹏、刘德华、杨幂主演. thepaper.cn (in Chinese). 2025-03-03. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  6. ^ Fu Wenjia (富文佳) (2025-07-18). 电影《长安的荔枝》今日上映. chinadaily.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  7. ^ a b c d The Lychee Road (2025) - Release info - IMDb. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via www.imdb.com.
  8. ^ a b "The Lychee Road (Mandarin, Eng Sub) | HOYTS Cinemas". www.hoyts.com.au. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  9. ^ "The Lychee Road | Movie session times & tickets in Australian cinemas | Flicks". Flicks.com.au. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  10. ^ a b "'The Lychee Road' movie resonates with modern youth - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  11. ^ "The Lychee Road | Palace Nova". www.palacenova.com.au. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  12. ^ "The Lychee Road (2025) Tickets & Showtimes". Fandango. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
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