China's National Peony Park recently opened its doors in Luoyang, an ancient city in central China's Henan Province.
Occupying an area of approximately 67 hectares, the park plants more than 800,000 peonies and reserves peony genes offered by the world's major peony planting countries.
With more than 700 kinds of domestic peonies and about 130 kinds from overseas, the park has drawn thousands of visitors and businessmen from home and overseas each day.
Historical records show that the breeding and growing of peonies by Luoyang people started in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and continued during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The Luoyang peony, a plant native to the city of Luoyang and dubbed the "queen of flowers", has been exported to more than 20 countries around the world.
(People's Daily April 17, 2003)
