A blossoming career

Fan-who launched his own peony garden in 2016 in Beijing's Shunyi district-has also become a veteran expert on peonies. He obtained a doctorate by majoring on the medicinal values of peonies at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, publishing more than 50 papers and a book, with the latter exploring the economic prospects of woody and herbal peony species.

"Every part of a peony plant is useful. Aside from the freshly cut flowers for decoration, the volatile components extracted from the plants could treat depression. Peony flowers can also be made into tea and food," he says.

With his passion of the flowers, Fan has set an ambitious goal to turn his Beijing garden into an attraction to gather both tourists and peony enthusiasts, as well as helping different cities in China to build a total of 100 peony gardens.

However, Fan's own garden has seen a drastic drop of visitors due to the pandemic resurgence in Beijing, unfortunately in line with the blooming period. "I dug a cellar to store cut flowers as the low temperature benefits an extended bloom. Besides, we have also worked hard to sell the flowers and potted roots via e-commerce platforms," says Fan.