The 2024 Heze Peony International Communication Forum was recently held in Heze, Shandong province, on April 12. In conjunction with the municipality's annual Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, which runs until May 15, the forum gave scholars, diplomats, and the media from both home and abroad the opportunity to explore Heze's local peony-based economy and the cultural prominence that this flower holds within Chinese society.
Organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Heze Municipal Committee and the Center for International Cultural Communication, China International Communications Group (CICG), the theme of the forum was international cultural exchange through local peony culture. CICG is China.org.cn's parent company.
A symbol of a vast array of intangible qualities, such as prosperity, honor, and happiness, the peony flower is of great importance within Chinese culture. It was named China's national flower by the China Flower Association in 2019.
As a cultural symbol, peony blossoms have been a prominent motif in the architecture of imperial palaces, past scholarly culture as well as folk art. During his keynote speech at this year's forum, Pan Lusheng, Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Vice President of China Public Relations Association, and Chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association explained the symbolic usage of peonies in imperial China, highlighting its presence in pottery, clothing, and paintings during the Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
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