Luoyang Peony, Queen of Flowers

The Luoyang peony is a Geographical Indication product in China. First cultivated in the Sui Dynasty (581- 618) more than 1,400 years ago, the flower had its heyday in the Tang Dynasty and became the best-known garden plant in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The Luoyang peony features a large size, and there are more than 1,400 varieties, 10 flower shapes, and 9 color systems (red, white, pink, yellow, purple, blue, green, black, and multicolor). Hailed as the "queen of flowers," it has long been favored as a symbol of wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

For over a thousand years, Luoyang has been reputed to be the "city of peony." As early as in the Tang and the Song dynasties, advanced floriculture, the custom of flower appreciation, and peony-related poetry, calligraphy, painting, legends, and garments had already appeared in Luoyang, and the peony culture stemming from these is an important part of the Heluo culture. In addition to pleasing the eyes, peony is of high economic value as its petals, seeds, roots, and pollen can all be used to make medicine, food, wine, cosmetics, and tonic tea.

A Peony Fair has been held in Luoyang every spring in April and May since 1983. At the International Peony Competition held in May 2019 during the International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing, the Luoyang peony won 221 awards, ranking first of all candidates in terms of the total number of awards and the respective numbers of awards in different categories, once again corroborating its unrivaled reputation.

洛陽牡丹甲天下

中國名花洛陽牡丹，是中國國家地理標(biāo)志產(chǎn)品，栽培始于隋，鼎盛于唐，宋時(shí)甲于天下，至今已有1400多年的歷史。洛陽牡丹花朵碩大，品種繁多，花色奇絕，有紅、白、粉、黃、紫、藍(lán)、綠、黑及復(fù)色9大色系、10種花型、1400多個(gè)品種，素有“國色天香”“花中之王”的美稱，長期以來被當(dāng)作富貴吉祥、繁榮興旺的象征。

“洛陽牡丹甲天下”，這是千百年來人們對洛陽牡丹的贊譽(yù)，故洛陽有“千年帝都，牡丹花城”之稱。洛陽早在唐宋時(shí)期即已具備系統(tǒng)的栽花技藝，形成賞花習(xí)俗及與牡丹有關(guān)的詩詞、書畫、傳說、服飾等，由此衍生出洛陽牡丹文化，這也是河洛文化的重要組成部分。牡丹不僅具有觀賞價(jià)值，其花、種、根、粉都有著很高的經(jīng)濟(jì)價(jià)值，已開發(fā)出中藥、食品、釀酒、化妝品、保健茶等系列產(chǎn)品。

1983年以來，洛陽市在每年四五月舉辦牡丹花會(huì)。2019年5月，在北京世園會(huì)牡丹芍藥國際競賽中，洛陽牡丹共獲獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)221個(gè)，獲獎(jiǎng)總數(shù)及各類獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)均列所有參賽團(tuán)體第一，再次印證了“洛陽牡丹甲天下”的美譽(yù)。