Events to showcase blossoming culture

During this year's World Peony Conference and the 35th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, which are to be held in April, Heze in Shandong province will highlight its cultural and tourism resource represented by "one capital and four hometowns" brands and offer diverse tourist activities.

On March 16, 2012, the China Flower Association officially named Heze city the "peony capital of China". The cultivation of peonies here began in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and flourished in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. The city became the national center of peony cultivation by the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

At present, Heze peonies come in nine major color series, 10 flower types and 1,308 varieties. There are more than 10 peony ornamental gardens here, including the famous Caozhou Peony Garden.

Over the past few years, the city has been cultivating a signature industry related to the flower. There are currently 16 key peony production and processing enterprises, which were honored with more than 200 peony-related patents. Products such as peony seed oil, peony cosmetics and peony-based foods are examples.

Apart from peonies, Heze is known as the hometown of traditional opera, painting and calligraphy, martial arts and folk arts.

The opera in Heze has a long history and a wide variety of genres. The city is also home to a large number of nationally renowned opera artists, including Ma Jinfeng and Cui Lantian.

All eight major local opera genres, including Shandong Bangzi and Zaobang Opera, have been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. A number of plays such as A Shandong Man and Land Boat Dance have won national and provincial art awards.

In 2025, focusing on themes of ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin and the construction of beautiful villages, local art troupes created large-scale plays including The Sunken Ship and small-scale works such as Under the Acacia Tree.

Heze painting and calligraphy boast prominent figures. Since 1978, painting and calligraphy have become popular among the people of Heze. There are currently 103 members of the China Artists Association and 100 members of the China Calligraphers Association in Heze. Juye county of Heze was named the "hometown of Chinese rustic painting" by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

Additionally, Heze has kept the tradition of practicing martial arts. Four counties in the city — Yuncheng, Shanxian, Dongming and Juye — as well as Mudan district were named "hometowns of martial arts" by the General Administration of Sport of China.

Heze also boasts diverse folk arts. Written records of stories, songs, ballads, proverbs and customs amount to more than 70 million Chinese characters. There are more than 70 types of folk dances, among which the Shangyang Dance and Huasan Dance each have a history of more than 5,000 years.

Folk crafts include dough modeling, festive lanterns, sugar sculptures, brick carvings, Shandong brocade, woodblock New Year paintings, painted eggs, straw weaving and paper-cutting.

At present, the city has one item on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It also boasts 32 national-level, 127 provincial-level, and 421 city-level intangible cultural heritage items.

Editor：韩蒙蒙