At the peony festival The city of Heze is five or more hours by train away from Zibo, where I teach, but I was determined nevertheless to see this year's Peony Festival. So I caught the bus to travel south, seeing more of Shandong Province on the way. Ross stayed behind because he didn't see the overriding imperative to travel for a total of 12 hours to spend 6 hours looking at peonies.
Zibo is as flat as an ironing board but the "Shan" in "Shandong" means "mountains." ("Dong" means "East"), so in other words, a mountain range or two is contained in this province and most of the places we traveled through had small or larger mountains or even huge mountain-sized --- um, not sure what to call it..... slag? Slag heaps? Yeah, slag heaps. No pictures to show you, though, since the bus windows were typically grimy. The bus ride was also memorable for the times when the driver crossed the double solid line and drove in the opposite lane, honking at oncoming traffic to get out of his way. Ross says Chinese bus drivers should have their own Nascar circuit.
Zibo is as flat as an ironing board but the "Shan" in "Shandong" means "mountains." ("Dong" means "East"), so in other words, a mountain range or two is contained in this province and most of the places we traveled through had small or larger mountains or even huge mountain-sized --- um, not sure what to call it..... slag? Slag heaps? Yeah, slag heaps. No pictures to show you, though, since the bus windows were typically grimy. The bus ride was also memorable for the times when the driver crossed the double solid line and drove in the opposite lane, honking at oncoming traffic to get out of his way. Ross says Chinese bus drivers should have their own Nascar circuit.
Heze, I was told, is a poorer town than Zibo but it still had extensive pleasure grounds built along the river. This appears to be a priority for municipal governments -- the air may be swampy with pollution and you may be living in a cramped apartment, but you can stroll along a canal or river or in a nicely maintained public park every night, do your tai chi, or dancercize, or just visit with your neighbors. Also, the work of creating and maintaining these public spaces keeps millions of (mostly older) people employed.
The locals are proud that China's first lady, Premier Xi Jin Ping's wife, Peng Liyuan, is a native of Heze. She is an accomplished classical and folk singer.
The locals are proud that China's first lady, Premier Xi Jin Ping's wife, Peng Liyuan, is a native of Heze. She is an accomplished classical and folk singer.
The exhibition grounds for the peonies is in a huge park with plazas, a lake, botanical displays of all kinds, lots of meandering pathways, and thankfully, bicycles and bicyles built for two and quadricycles for rent. These ladies below left are selling head garlands made of fresh peony blooms. I didn't buy one, but this proud dad did. The young mother at the top of this blog post is also wearing one.
We crossed a large plaza. Most everywhere you go in China there's a large plaza, it seems. In the background, you can see jets of water from the ornamental lake.
So, on to the flowers! Heze is traditionally a major center for the peony. They are grown not only for their beauty, but for tea, oil, food, cosmetics and medicine, which fortunately meant that during the Cultural Revolution, Heze gardeners managed to save some of their beloved plants from being ripped out of the soil by the Red Guards. From 1966 to 1976, ornamental flowers were condemned as bourgeois affectation but plants grown for medicinal purposes were spared. Can you imagine living under a government that tells you that you can't have flowers?
At the exhibition grounds, there were so many beds of peonies, it was just overwhelming. From white, to the barest pink, to deep coral, to dark red, more than 800 varieties on 1100 acres. I searched for the famous black peony but couldn't find one; It was early in the festival and perhaps they weren't in bloom yet.
So, on to the flowers! Heze is traditionally a major center for the peony. They are grown not only for their beauty, but for tea, oil, food, cosmetics and medicine, which fortunately meant that during the Cultural Revolution, Heze gardeners managed to save some of their beloved plants from being ripped out of the soil by the Red Guards. From 1966 to 1976, ornamental flowers were condemned as bourgeois affectation but plants grown for medicinal purposes were spared. Can you imagine living under a government that tells you that you can't have flowers?
At the exhibition grounds, there were so many beds of peonies, it was just overwhelming. From white, to the barest pink, to deep coral, to dark red, more than 800 varieties on 1100 acres. I searched for the famous black peony but couldn't find one; It was early in the festival and perhaps they weren't in bloom yet.
| | In the middle portion of the video you'll spot some red palanquins bobbing up and down. You could buy a ride in a palanquin, the same kind that are used to carry brides on their wedding day from their parents' home to their new families. (We didn't, though). The voice saying "oh my god" is one of my students, not me. Two girls from my second-year class who are Heze locals made the trip with me. |
Several attractive temples and pagodas were within the park as well, including a small sort of ziggurat dedicated to the Flower God that we weren't supposed to take pictures of. But I didn't know that until after I snapped a pic, below right:
Above left, another adorable Chinese baby. This is the usual expression I get from Chinese babies -- concern and puzzlement.
Above right, my two travelling companions, riding the handy quadricycle. The safety rules include: "riding while drunk and bad health," and "minor and old person need the guard of the family!"
Below, colorful scarves flutter in the breeze and calligraphy scrolls and paintings are for sale in a traditional building. Note the beautiful ceiling.
Above right, my two travelling companions, riding the handy quadricycle. The safety rules include: "riding while drunk and bad health," and "minor and old person need the guard of the family!"
Below, colorful scarves flutter in the breeze and calligraphy scrolls and paintings are for sale in a traditional building. Note the beautiful ceiling.
Peony cakes packaged for gift-giving The next morning there wasn't time for anything but breakfast before we headed to the train station for the ride home. On the way back, we passed by Taishan, or Mt. Tai, an important cultural spot that Ross and I haven't visited yet. More about train travel in future posts. We brought home peony cakes for our friends and colleagues. They are kind of like fig newtons.
I spent a glorious day at the park. Incidentally, of the thousands of people I saw that day, I was the only foreigner I spotted. And I was pretty easy to spot -- I'm the one who sometimes pinches myself and thinks, I'm leading a charmed life!
I spent a glorious day at the park. Incidentally, of the thousands of people I saw that day, I was the only foreigner I spotted. And I was pretty easy to spot -- I'm the one who sometimes pinches myself and thinks, I'm leading a charmed life!
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