Caozhou Peony Garden

　　In 2002, following the goal of establishing a "nationally famous and globally renowned peony-themed garden," the garden underwent large-scale renovation under the planning and design of leading domestic institutions including Tsinghua University, Tongji University in Shanghai, Beijing Forestry University, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The total investment reached 50 million yuan. After the first and second phases of renovation, Caozhou Peony Garden now features interconnected landscapes of mountains and waters, birdsong and floral fragrance, with outstanding scenic characteristics. Around Guyu (Grain Rain) each year, the garden bursts into a sea of blooming flowers and teems with visitors, creating a spectacular sight. The peak daily visitor count reaches up to 100,000, with annual visitors totaling 350,000–500,000, including a steadily growing number of international tourists. From 2000 to 2005, the garden’s annual comprehensive economic benefits consistently exceeded 8 million yuan, making it a significant driving force behind the development of Heze’s tertiary industry, urban construction, and rising global visibility.

　　The garden features over 30 points of interest. The main highlights include the Peony Main Viewing Area, which encompasses a variety resource nursery, color classification plots, and flower form plots. There is also the Peony and Herbaceous Peony Full Collection Nursery, where the adjustment of early, mid-season, and late-blooming varieties of both peonies and herbaceous peonies achieves a seamless bloom transition. The National Flower Museum includes a marble-floored lobby with large peony-patterned mosaics at the entrance and on the east and west sides. At the center of the lobby stands a bronze peony cauldron, flanked by twelve bronze sculptures of the Flower Gods. The east side houses the History Hall, while the west features the Culture Hall. The second floor displays a fine collection of peony pictorial charts, and the third floor is dedicated to an arts and culture exhibition hall. The Fresh Peony Exhibition Hall hosts an international peony ikebana (flower arrangement) exhibition every year during the flower festival, renowned for its top-tier quality in China. Lake Leize stretches over 600 meters and cultivates nearly 50 varieties of ornamental lotus flowers in diverse colors and shapes. Some blooms are as large as a foot in diameter with layers resembling towers, earning them the nickname “peony lotuses” from visitors. The blooming season lasts over 80 days. The Peony Cultural Square features the garden’s theme sculpture and a cultural pillar corridor. Nine nine-meter-tall stone pillars, each one meter in diameter, are carved with significant historical events, figures, and local customs of Heze. During peak tourist seasons, the square hosts performances and competitions in martial arts, opera, song and dance, as well as dragon and lion dances. Jiuse Chunhui (“Spring Radiance in Nine Colors”) surrounds Lake Leize and is planted with nearly ten thousand mature peony trees, complemented by roses, honeysuckle, photinia, and magnolia among other shrubs and flowering trees. Meishi Garden centers around hundreds of red, white, green, and pink plum blossoms and uniquely shaped rocks, interspersed with peonies, herbaceous peonies, Bauhinia, roses, and various flowering peach trees. The Flower Goddess Temple houses what is claimed to be the largest jade Buddha in the province—a 5.4-meter-long, 25-ton jade carving of a reclining Buddha, made from a single block of Burmese jade. He Mountain Flowing Glow is a project located inside the east gate, integrating elements such as transparency, perforation, beauty, uniqueness, fountains, waterfalls, pagodas, and mountain vegetation. The Folk Culture Square, located northeast of Meishi Garden, primarily showcases traditional Heze folk performances during the peony flower festival, including bridal sedan chair processions, clay modeling, paper-cutting, cockfighting, sheep fighting, and martial arts.

　　Tourism service facilities have become increasingly comprehensive and well-developed, including ecologically designed garden pathways, hotels, peony tea art rooms, restaurants, specialty souvenir shops, floral product outlets, art and calligraphy sales areas, and star-rated public toilets.

　　Caozhou Peony Garden will continue to highlight the national flower, the peony, as its central theme. It plans to further expand to cover 133.34 hectares, aiming to become a large-scale, modern, ecological peony-themed botanical garden and a AAAA-level tourist attraction. It will serve as a key link in Shandong Province’s golden tourism route stretching from east to west — “Coastal sightseeing, Jinan’s springs, Mount Tai’s vistas, Qufu’s historical reverence, and Heze’s peony appreciation” — and function as an important hub connecting Qi-Lu culture with Central Plains cultural tourism.

　　Address: No. 1000, Renmin North Road, Mudan District, Heze City

　　Type: Botanical Garden

　　Rating: AAAA

　　Recommended visiting time: About 2 hours

　　Phone: 0530-5640188

　　Ticket information:

　　Gate price: Starting from 10.0 yuan

　　Peak season (April 1 to May 20): 75 yuan; Off-season: 10 yuan; Electric sightseeing cart: 10 yuan.