The transportation from Sichuan to Chang 'an, passing through Qinling Mountains, coincides with the poetic meaning of "looking back at Chang 'an" and "the front door on the peak", and it only takes two or three days to ensure the freshness of litchi. Yang Guifei's hometown is Bashu.

Poets of Yang Guifei's contemporaries wrote that the litchi that Yang Guifei ate was shipped from Lingnan, but geographically speaking, there is a closer Sichuan to transport, and the quality can be guaranteed, so there is no need to go further. Moreover, Fujian is also rich in litchi, which some people think was shipped from Fujian, but the litchi in Fujian became famous after the Tang Dynasty and was listed as a tribute.

On the whole, Sichuan is more likely.

Transportation method of litchi

According to the literature, the key vessels for transporting litchi in ancient times were porcelain pots and bamboo tubes. In fact, the ancients in the Tang Dynasty had invented the transportation and refrigeration of fresh litchi. Put litchi in a container and seal it. That is, it is beneficial to the rapid accumulation of carbon dioxide, inhibiting the basal metabolism of the fruit itself, slowly reducing oxygen, and increasing the storage time of litchi, thus realizing the color protection and cold storage of litchi.

Litchi, which pays tribute to Yang Guifei, keeps going day and night. According to the express delivery efficiency of the Tang Dynasty, the maximum speed reached 500 miles per day. According to the traffic map of the Tang Dynasty, it is inferred that "mail litchi accelerates to more than 600 miles to 700 miles per day".

In other words, litchi transported from Sichuan to Chang 'an took a special "litchi road". It takes seven or eight days for litchi from Guangdong and Guangxi to arrive in Chang 'an, and ten days at most for Fujian to arrive in Chang 'an. It is not difficult to see that Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty can not only eat litchi, but also definitely eat fresh litchi.