Asian Insider Podcast
This Shandong city produces 80 per cent of China’s peony paintings
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A visitor at the Caozhou Peony Garden on April 9, 2025.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM
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Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they’re based in.
Peonies have been grown for centuries in China, prized for their medicinal properties and ornamental value.
The Straits Times’ foreign editor Li Xueying and China correspondent Joyce Lim take us to Heze, a city in Shandong province, where peonies aren’t just admired by tourists - they drive a multi-billion yuan industry.
Long revered for their cultural significance, peonies now powers a thriving local economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and carrying unexpected political symbolism, including ties to First Lady Peng Liyuan.
What can a single city alone reveal about the China’s deeper economic challenges - from changing consumer behaviour to rising youth unemployment and growing regional divides?
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:28 The cultural significance of peonies in China
4:04 Peonies in modern Chinese culture
5:42 Toothpaste, cooking oil and TCM - how peony is made into 260 products
13:33 Challenges and strategies for cities in China
17:43 Conclusion and broader economic insights
Read Joyce Lim’s article here:
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Host: Li Xueying
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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