On April 10, the 2026 World Peony Conference and the 35th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival kicked off in Heze, east China's Shandong province. The conference, with the theme of "Let the World Fall in Love with Heze Peony", will run for a month.

The Opening Ceremony

Photo by Chen Kai

With its main venue settled in Heze, the conference also boasts two branch venues in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and the National Art Museum of China, respectively. Four sub-forums will be organized during the conference, including the 2026 Heze Peony International Communication Forum, the Gongbi Peony Painting Industry Development Forum, the High-Quality Development Forum for the Hanfu Industry, and the Peony Cosmetics Development Forum.

At the opening ceremony, two videos were screened: one showcasing the "Blooming Prosperity—Heze Peony Calligraphy and Painting Art Exhibition", and the other highlighting the Kyrgyzstan branch venue of the 2026 World Peony Conference. The ceremony also marked the launching of the "Embrace the Sea along the Yellow River" National Travel Agents' Shandong Tour, a field trip activity organized leveraging this cultural and tourism event.

Heze Baihua Garden

Photo by Chen Kai

Renowned as the "Peony Capital of China", Heze boasts a time-honored peony cultivation history of nearly 1,500 years. Heze peonies come in an extensive array of varieties, including 9 color series, 10 flower forms and 1,308 cultivars. The city has developed more than 80% of all new peony varieties in China, supplies over 85% of peony seedlings for nationwide planting, and accounts for 90% of China's total peony seedling exports.