In spring, the city of Heze in East China s Shandong Province busies itself for peony blossom.
Tourists shuttle through the fields of peonies, admiring the precious flowers which bloom in various colors during the Heze International Peony Festival. The freshly-harvested peony flowers are shipped to all parts of the country and the rest of the world; farmers do live broadcasts in the flower fields; and machines surrounding factories process peony products.
The peony is widely seen as China s national flower. In Chinese culture, the flower is considered to be a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. In Juye county, East China s Shandong Province, artists, many of them also farmers, paint traditional collaborative pictures of peonies to make a living.