Visitors in traditional Chinese clothes pose for a picture with peonies at the 28th Heze International Peony Culture Tourism Festival held on April 12 in Heze, Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat account: CNS-SD]

The World Peony's Conference 2019 and the 28th Heze International Peony Culture Tourism Festival that opened on April 12 in Heze, Shandong province once again demonstrated the charm of "China's peony capital".

The Heze International Peony Culture Tourism Festival has been held 27 times and this year's edition was presented on an unprecedented scale by displaying 486,000 mu (32,400 hectares) of peony flowers of hundreds of varieties.

Peony is one of the favorite flowering plants in China, valued for the bloom's large size, striking color and the aura of magnificence and prosperity it delivers.

Heze grows more than 1,000 species of peonies in nine color groups, including red, white and green, with its peony cultivation history dating back over 1,500 years, according to an expert.

Currently, the city churns out 25,000 tonnes of peony seed oil annually generating 8 billion ($1.2 billion) yuan. Statistics show that there are more than 240 enterprises engaged in cultivation, production, processing and sales of peony in Heze, developing 240 kinds of products.

Heze has now grown into China's largest peony export base, the national pilot base for peony seed oil production, and the world's largest peony breeding, research and viewing center.

A visitor takes pictures of blooming peonies at the 28th Heze International Peony Culture Tourism Festival held on April 12 in Heze, Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat account: CNS-SD]