Gansu holds peony flower festival

Visitors take photos of peonies in the garden in Lanzhou city on May 18. [Photo/Xinhua]

The city of Lanzhou in Gansu province launched a fifteen-day international peony cultural tourism festival on May 18, attracting over 10,000 tourists to the peony garden in Lanzhou's new district.

At the festival’s opening ceremony, Zhongchuan Peony Industry Co signed an agreement with the Gansu Academy of Medical Science for opening the academy's experiment base of purple peonies. The company also reached agreement with Lanzhou Vocational Technical College for running the students' practice base.

Attendees unveil the nameplate for the student's practice base of Lanzhou Vocational Technical College at its opening on May 18. [Photo/Xinhua]

The peony garden with more than 500 peony categories covering around 67 hectares of land was opened to the public on the same day.

The festival is being held to promote Lanzhou New District's ecological tourism brand, according to authorities.

The peony or mudan in Chinese is known as the "flower of riches and honor" or "king of the flowers", and is used symbolically in Chinese art. It is popular among the Chinese people.

Edited by Peter Nordlinger