36 litchis from Tang Dynasty orchard fetch $6,500

File picture (Photo source: Beijing Evening News)

(ECNS) -- Thirty-six litchis from a 1,300-year-old tree in Guangdong province fetched 40,772 yuan ($6,547) on Wednesday at an online auction, Southern Metropolis Daily said on Thursday.

The fruits sold on e-commerce site Taobao were picked from the tree planted at a litchi orchard in Gaozhou under Maoming city. The history of the orchard can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The reason litchis from this orchard are sold at such a high price is that according to legend, Yang Yuhuan, concubine of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) of the Tang Dynasty, had such a penchant for fresh litchis that fast horses were commandeered to fetch her favorite fruit from the same garden.

The fruit, being wedded to this legendary tale, has a tinge of mystique.

It was the first time that litchis from the garden were auctioned online.