The Diao family warmly receives every visitor who comes to see the blooming peonies in Jiahe village, Taizhou. [Photo by Xu Dacai and Qian Hongbin/xuexi.cn]
A wonderful thing can be seen at Diao's courtyard in Jiahe village – administered by Qintong town in the Jiangyan district of Taizhou city, in East China's Jiangsu province – where a centurial-old peony tree is now in full bloom, attracting hordes of visitors daily.
The Diao family has passed down the precious flower for generations. According to 61-year-old Diao Yiheng, his grandfather Diao Peijia was born in 1906 and was a private tutor who loved to take care of flowers and plants ever since he was a child.
"When grandfather was 10 years old, great-grandfather brought back the peony, saying that it had grown for 10 years and was a rare birthday gift," said Diao Yiheng.
At that time, the peony was as high as an adult's knee and had only seven or eight flowers. Diao Peijia regarded it as a treasure and took great care of it. Whenever the flowers were in bloom, he would take one or two to the classroom and teach the students something else about peonies.
Diao Yiheng's father, 85-year-old Diao Qinmin, prunes the tree. [Photo by Xu Dacai and Qian Hongbin/xuexi.cn]
"After my grandfather passed away, my father took good care of the peonies. In 1986, we moved to the place where we live now and the peonies were also moved here," Diao Yiheng added.