Mudan District 牡丹区

Peonies and history

Heze was historically called Caozhou (曹州). Xinhua dates Caozhou peony growing to the Sui and Tang dynasties and its rise to fame to the Ming and Qing, quoting an old record that Caozhou gardeners planted flowers "the way others plant millet" (种花如种黍粟), by the hundred mu. The traditional medicine danpi (丹皮) comes from the peony root. Chinese Wikipedia counts nine colour groups, ten flower forms and 1,308 varieties grown in the district.

The peony runs through local stories and crafts. Ge Jin (葛巾), a peony fairy in Pu Songling's (蒲松龄) Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异), comes from a Heze tale, and a statue of her often stands in Heze's peony gardens. The green variety Lümu Yinyu (绿幕隐玉), which opens green and turns jade-white, was bred by the Heze grower Sun Jingyu (孙景玉) and his son. The district government also calls Mudan a home of calligraphy and painting, opera, storytelling arts, martial arts and folk art.

What to see

Caozhou Peony Garden (曹州牡丹园) on Renmin North Road (人民北路) is a national 4A scenic area that the district describes as the largest peony and herbaceous-peony garden in the world by planted area. It grew from more than ten Ming and Qing peony gardens, among them Zhao's garden (赵氏园), Sangli garden (桑篱园) and Guiling garden (桂陵园). In 1982 it gained two Ming-style archway gates bearing its name in the calligraphy of Shu Tong (舒同). More than a hundred plants are over a century old, and its halls include the National Flower Hall (国花馆), the Flower-Viewing Tower (观花楼) and Tianxiang Pavilion (天香阁). The Heze International Peony Festival opens here each year, and the peonies flower from mid-April to early May.

Caozhou Hundred Flowers Garden (曹州百花园), a national 2A scenic area founded in the Jiajing reign of the Ming, is known as the "garden of rare peonies" for its many prized varieties. Caozhou old town (曹州古城) in Heze's old urban area is round outside and square inside: a square city ringed by a circular moat. The Caozhou Academy of Calligraphy and Painting (曹州书画院) has a long corridor of inscribed stone tablets.

Highlights

• Caozhou Peony Garden 曹州牡丹园: National 4A garden built from Ming and Qing peony gardens; the peony festival opens here.
• Caozhou Hundred Flowers Garden 曹州百花园: Garden founded in the Ming Jiajing reign, known for rare peony varieties.
• Caozhou old town 曹州古城: Square old city inside a round moat.
• Lümu Yinyu peony 绿幕隐玉: Green-to-white variety bred by Heze grower Sun Jingyu.