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 US$1.9 billion) 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.
Read more at Borneo Post Online
