What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

The Annual Peony Festivals (牡丹節) hold a special place in the flora calendar in China as Peony had been groomed and admired by the Chinese people since the days of the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. Luoyang (洛陽) in the province of Henan (河南) would be the place to be to attend these festivals (between early April to early May) as there were numerous parks opened to the public where thousands of Peony were decked out in all their full glory. Peony, with its dazzling beautiful colors, complex petals structures and wholesomeness had long been associated with prosperity, fortune and wealth. We visited the two main sites in Luoyang : 神州牡丹園 and  隋唐城遺址植物園 and found the crowds to be not too overwhelming, perhaps the flowering season was coming towards the end and we felt fortunate to have glimpsed, perhaps the last crops of these beautiful flowers standing proudly for our admiration - think glamorous ladies in their evening couture, strutting their stuff on the red carpet and posing in their over-the-top dramatic gestures, all for our flashing cameras !