Time to enjoy summer flowers in Yangzhou

As the summer approaches, blooming Chinese herbaceous peonies are to be seen in various scenic areas in the city of Yangzhou -- in the eastern-central coastal province of Jiangsu -- including in the Slender West Lake scenic area, Zhuyu Bay and in Heyuan Garden.

The Chinese herbaceous peony is a traditional flower in China. The earliest written record shows that Yangzhou started planting the flower over 1,500 years ago.

Nowadays, over 200 kinds of Chinese herbaceous peony are planted and developed in Yangzhou. However, the variety called Jin Dai Wei was lost to the world in 1960s.

After years of hard work, Tao Jun, a professor at the College of Horticulture and Plant Protection at Yangzhou University, developed another kind of Chinese herbaceous peony which is almost exactly alike Jin Dai Wei. Both varieties have a circle of gold stamens in the middle of the flower, which looks like a gold belt.

The Chinese herbaceous peony became the city flower of Yangzhou in 2005.