Travelers making no stink over durian

Many major Chinese e-commerce platforms have introduced durian direct purchasing in Thailand and direct selling in China, but sales of Malaysian durian products on these platforms are still low, as most consumers continue to prefer fresh fruit.

As a result, many Chinese tourists are looking for a fresher but more expensive option－traveling to Malaysia directly to taste the fruit straight from the tree.

Li, from Zhanjiang, who joined one of these trips, said it was the most expensive she had ever been on, but she thought it was worthwhile as she not only sampled "the best durian in my lifetime", but the trip was led by well-known Hong Kong gourmet and food critic Chua Lam.

On Ctrip, some trips to Malaysia range in price from 3,000 to 8,000 yuan, with 80 percent of them featuring durian buffets, farm visits or harvests.

In June, Wang Congcong from Beijing also traveled to Malaysia, but she failed to reserve a ticket to visit Bao Sheng Yuan, the best-known durian farm among Chinese lovers of the fruit, as it had been fully booked from March, three months before the Musang King ripen.

Wang, who bought a frozen Musang King durian for 500 yuan in Beijing earlier this year, said Thai and Malaysian durians taste different.

"Eating durian is like collecting stamps. Once you like the fruit, you want to taste all different varieties," she said. Chang Teik Seng, the 57-year-old owner of Bao Sheng Yuan, has had to cut the number of visitors to the farm from 500 to 100 a day because those from China want more services.

Chang said that as Chinese visitors now only eat the best-quality durians, he decided to grow more organic durian trees and provide his guests with the choicest fruit falling from them within three hours.

But Chang refuses to export the durians he grows on his farm. "I'd rather that people come here and taste the flavors of the Malaysian varieties", he said.