Withered Branch Peony Garden

Withered Branch Peony Garden

The Withered Branch Peony Garden is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

A national AA-level tourist attraction, located in Bincang Town, Tinghu District. The withered branch peony is famous for being strange, unique, peculiar, and mystical. Strange because its leaves are green, branches are withered, yet flowers are vibrant. Unique because the flowers bloom properly only in this garden. Peculiar because in leap years with 13 lunar months, the flowers have 13 petals; in regular years with 12 months, they have 12 petals, forming a pattern of single-petal peonies. Mystical because they seem to sense worldly events and trends. Classical novel "Flowers in the Mirror" as well as Ming and Qing dynasty "Yancheng County Annals" all describe and record it. The withered branch peonies bloom within three days before and after Grain Rain every year. At this time, the whole garden bursts into bloom, with flowers of dazzling colors, as if made of rouge—gorgeous, lustrous, and richly fragrant. The leaves supporting the blossoms are lush and thick, emerald green and dewy, while the main stems appear weather-beaten, withered, and almost rotten, like dry firewood. The flowers come in two colors, purplish-red and pink, with golden yellow stamens. Qing Dynasty poet Sun Yizhi praised them in his poem "Drunken Yang Guifei": “In their prime, they captivated with beauty divine, / Under Heaven’s grace, they outshone all in their line. / Now dust dims rouge, petals fallen and gone, / Yet shadows of blooms linger in the world long.” When General Zhang Aiping served as Minister of National Defense, he inscribed the couplet for the “Withered Branch Peony Garden”: “Waters stretch thirty thousand zhang deep, / Peonies bloom seven hundred years steep.” The rare withered branch peonies in the garden today are over 740 years old. Every year around Grain Rain, the garden is a riot of blossoms, attracting throngs of visitors. In recent years, new attractions have been added, including Ink Fragrance Pavilion, Ancient Charm Corridor, Flower Rain Corridor, Octagonal Corridor, Exotic Flowers Pavilion, Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Yuanheng Sculpture, Stele Pavilion, Peony Fairy, Dry Bridge, Bliss Temple, and Relief Square. In 2009, the peony garden was listed as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yancheng City,” and the “China Tinghu Withered Branch Peony Festival” has been held for 15 consecutive sessions.

Address: Cangzhong Road, Tinghu District, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province

Type: Botanical Garden

Recommended visiting time: 1 hour

Ticket: 15 RMB