Peony industry in Heze accelerates development, enhances cultural exchanges
The 2025 Heze Peony Festival, which includes the 2025 World Peony Conference and the 34th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, officially commenced on Tuesday. Spanning one month, the festival features four sub-forums and 29 activities.
TroibNews 
In 2000, Li Xiaoqi, a graduate of China Agricultural University, returned to his hometown of Heze City in Shandong Province, eastern China, to dedicate himself to the peony industry.
Through years of perseverance, Li expanded his family's peony field—from less than 10 mu to an impressive 2,200 mu—and established a modern peony industrial park. This park includes facilities for seedling propagation, fresh-cut flower export processing, cold storage, a laboratory, and office space.
While growing his own business, Li also guided hundreds of local farmers in venturing into the peony industry. He taught them essential peony production and cultivation techniques, significantly aiding local poverty alleviation efforts and fostering the growth of the regional peony sector.
The flourishing peony industry has helped Heze, known as "the peony capital of China," to develop four main sectors: seedling breeding, flower cultivation, deep processing, and cultural tourism.
The 2025 World Peony Conference and the 34th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, collectively referred to as the 2025 Heze Peony Festival, officially started on Tuesday. The event includes four sub-forums and 29 activities and will extend over the course of one month.
Blooming 'flower economy'
As the largest base for peony planting, research, and processing in the world, Heze has recently focused on leveraging its strengths in areas such as variety cultivation, industrial growth, and the integration of culture and tourism.
Currently, the city has developed nine color systems, 10 flower shapes, and 1,308 varieties, making its planting area and variety count the highest globally.
In addition to peonies, Heze has also cultivated other flowers, including herbaceous peonies, roses, and gerbera jamesonii. Last year, the city achieved sales of 120 million fresh-cut herbaceous peony flowers, exporting them to over 20 countries and regions worldwide.
Regarding industrial advancement, Heze has established a comprehensive industrial chain that encompasses planting, processing, tourism, and cultural innovation.
With more than 120 peony production and processing enterprises and 20 research institutions, the city has produced over 260 peony-derived products, including seed oil, cosmetics, and cultural items. Last year, the peony industry's total output value soared to 13 billion yuan.
As Heze's most exquisite business feature, the peony has emerged as a vital driver for the high-quality development of cultural tourism, noted Yu Jiannan, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Promoting cultural exchanges
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Heze Peony International Communication Forum took place. A range of activities, such as digitally animating paintings and producing digital images of peonies with ChatGPT, have introduced dynamic new elements to the international promotion of peony culture through technological innovation.
In recent years, Heze has delved into the cultural significance of peonies and has proactively crafted a friendly cultural symbol for global engagement.
Alongside the forum, the city has established overseas sub-venues for the Peony Festival in countries including the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea.
It has also created peony culture communication stations in Brazil, Malaysia, Romania, and other nations and organized award events related to peonies, showcasing their beauty to over 50 Belt and Road partner countries and providing an engaging perspective on peony culture.
The festival has established itself as a crucial platform for fostering friendship, enhancing cooperation, and facilitating cultural exchanges, Yu emphasized.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
Through years of perseverance, Li expanded his family's peony field—from less than 10 mu to an impressive 2,200 mu—and established a modern peony industrial park. This park includes facilities for seedling propagation, fresh-cut flower export processing, cold storage, a laboratory, and office space.
While growing his own business, Li also guided hundreds of local farmers in venturing into the peony industry. He taught them essential peony production and cultivation techniques, significantly aiding local poverty alleviation efforts and fostering the growth of the regional peony sector.
The flourishing peony industry has helped Heze, known as "the peony capital of China," to develop four main sectors: seedling breeding, flower cultivation, deep processing, and cultural tourism.
The 2025 World Peony Conference and the 34th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, collectively referred to as the 2025 Heze Peony Festival, officially started on Tuesday. The event includes four sub-forums and 29 activities and will extend over the course of one month.
Blooming 'flower economy'
As the largest base for peony planting, research, and processing in the world, Heze has recently focused on leveraging its strengths in areas such as variety cultivation, industrial growth, and the integration of culture and tourism.
Currently, the city has developed nine color systems, 10 flower shapes, and 1,308 varieties, making its planting area and variety count the highest globally.
In addition to peonies, Heze has also cultivated other flowers, including herbaceous peonies, roses, and gerbera jamesonii. Last year, the city achieved sales of 120 million fresh-cut herbaceous peony flowers, exporting them to over 20 countries and regions worldwide.
Regarding industrial advancement, Heze has established a comprehensive industrial chain that encompasses planting, processing, tourism, and cultural innovation.
With more than 120 peony production and processing enterprises and 20 research institutions, the city has produced over 260 peony-derived products, including seed oil, cosmetics, and cultural items. Last year, the peony industry's total output value soared to 13 billion yuan.
As Heze's most exquisite business feature, the peony has emerged as a vital driver for the high-quality development of cultural tourism, noted Yu Jiannan, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Promoting cultural exchanges
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Heze Peony International Communication Forum took place. A range of activities, such as digitally animating paintings and producing digital images of peonies with ChatGPT, have introduced dynamic new elements to the international promotion of peony culture through technological innovation.
In recent years, Heze has delved into the cultural significance of peonies and has proactively crafted a friendly cultural symbol for global engagement.
Alongside the forum, the city has established overseas sub-venues for the Peony Festival in countries including the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea.
It has also created peony culture communication stations in Brazil, Malaysia, Romania, and other nations and organized award events related to peonies, showcasing their beauty to over 50 Belt and Road partner countries and providing an engaging perspective on peony culture.
The festival has established itself as a crucial platform for fostering friendship, enhancing cooperation, and facilitating cultural exchanges, Yu emphasized.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
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