by Xinhua writer Ji Hang

JINAN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- As spring blooms across China and students enjoy their spring break, I traveled to Heze, a city in east China known as the "peony capital," home to more than 1,500 years of peony cultivation and 1,308 varieties of this flower.

On the way, I wondered how Heze would differ from Luoyang, another famous peony city in central China's Henan Province. I soon found my answer. My first encounter with Heze came not from a garden, but from a dining table, where several dishes made with peony flowers were served.

Later, my colleagues said much the same thing. "Before coming to Heze, I had never known peonies could be eaten," one of them told me.

This small surprise revealed something essential about the city. In Heze, peonies are not just admired in gardens. They are also brewed into tea, extracted for use in oils, and even serve as consumer goods and nutritional health products.

The lunch exemplified Heze's pride in its peonies and answered my question: here, the flower is not just a feast for the eyes, but the foundation of an entire industry.

For Heze, the peony is more than a cultural icon. It is a major engine of the local economy. The total output value of the peony industry exceeded 13 billion yuan (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025.

Its impact can also be felt in everyday livelihoods. This flower has helped raise the incomes of more than 500,000 people. In Mudan District, which literally means "Peony District," I saw multiple roadside plots where peonies grew akin to vegetables elsewhere.

More than half of local farmers in the district are involved in the peony-related industry, working in areas such as greenhouse cultivation, essential oil extraction, handicraft making and live-streaming sales.

As locals often say, peonies are everywhere you look. Years of cultivation have woven the city's peony identity into every corner of daily life. Road railings are carved with blooming peony reliefs, while buses adorned with peony motifs glide through the streets.

More than ten peony gardens of varying styles dot Heze, and I visited three of them.

At the peony garden of Longchi Peony Industry Co., Ltd., visitors walked among thick rows of blooming flowers. However, what struck me just as much was what lay beyond the flower beds.

At the company's production and research facility, I came across a woman in her sixties, dressed in lab attire, pouring peony oil into a test tube. Zhang Junyu, general manager of the company, told me that the worker has devoted decades to peony food development and is one of 30 researchers at the facility.

"Peonies hold value from seed to stem," Zhang said. "After the flowering season, we use them to make oil, wine, medicine, cosmetics and other products."

According to the company, it uses technology to make full use of the entire plant and has developed more than 150 product varieties. It also continues to work with research institutions to advance deeper processing.

Longchi Peony exemplifies the efforts of Heze's over 120 local enterprises that produce and export peony-related products. Together, they have developed more than 260 varieties, sold to over 30 countries and regions, including the United States, France and Japan.

The more I saw, clearer it became what makes Heze unique. In some places, peonies are mainly a seasonal attraction. In Heze, they have grown into a broader economy that links planting, processing, R&D, tourism, cultural creativity and online retail.

This does not make the flower's beauty any less important. Quite the opposite. Strolling through the streets of Heze, I could easily spot people of all ages adorned with vibrant, colorful peony crowns.

At the three peony gardens, I saw many young women dressed in Hanfu, a traditional Chinese attire known for its intricate embroidery. Not far from these gardens lies Caoxian County, which produces nearly half of the Hanfu dresses in China.

"Peonies are in full bloom, and visitors are flocking to admire them," said Meng Jing, a Hanfu-clad staff member at Guanyu Peony Garden, the largest peony plantation globally according to the Guinness World Records. "More and more people are choosing to wear Hanfu for photos, as peonies and Hanfu complement each other perfectly."

Local companies and residents have also created peony-themed cultural products, such as paintings, carved porcelain, silk products and Hanfu. In this way, the flower's value has expanded beyond agriculture and processing to design, art and tourism.

At the exhibition hall of Heze Yaoshun Peony Biotechnology Co., Ltd., I saw another side of the peony's charm. Jainaba Sonko, an international student from Gambia attending the Communication University of China, stood with her classmates around a long wooden table, holding a fine Chinese writing brush.

As a Chinese painter gently guided her hand and explained techniques, peony blossoms slowly came to life on the rice paper. It was not quite perfect, but painted with curiosity and care.

Later, as we walked through the Caozhou Peony Garden, surrounded by traditional-style buildings, cultural activities and the peony museum, Sonko told me she saw Heze's peony as a model for tourism development and international outreach.

"Gambia and most African countries have many things to promote, but much is neglected," she said. "It all depends on how you invest in natural resources and make them appealing to the wider world."

She added that simply looking at the flowers brought her a sense of beauty, peace and freshness. "I would definitely love to come back here just for that sense of calm. I really love it," she said.

Sonko's sincere love for the peonies touched me deeply. At this stage, I felt I understood Heze's peony story a little better. In many places, a blossom belongs to a season. In Heze, it has become part of the economy.

I also knew, without a doubt, that I too would love to return to Heze.