154-Year-Old Peony Blooms with 72 Flowers in Xiaolou Lane, Wuxi - Foreigners Once Made a Documentary About It

There is a 154-year-old peony that has astonishingly bloomed with 72 flowers this year, setting a new blooming record. Even the British BBC once made a documentary about it, and it grows in Xiaolou Lane, Wuxi!

154-year-old peony, a living historical fossil

Grow Flowers All-Knowledge

In the city center of Wuxi, tall buildings stand in rows and people come and go in a noisy bustle. What is unexpected is that hidden here is Xiaolou Lane, which already has a history of more than 900 years. To see the century-old peony, you first have to pass through this narrow alley.

This alley is very narrow and deep, called a side passage. Following this alley, it feels like you have to walk for a long time before reaching the end. In some places, even sunlight cannot shine in, just like a tunnel of time.

After walking through the long Xiaolou Lane and wandering around, although I was eager to see the peony, I still did not want to miss the scenery along the way.

Passing along the way old houses covered with gray tiles, one cannot help but feel deep respect. This is an alley with more than 900 years of history, after all. These are houses where ancient people lived and roads they walked.

Walking to Fushou Hall, you are very close to the 154-year-old peony. The furnishings inside Fushou Hall are very simple and antique in style.

The plaque hanging in Fushou Hall is said to have been written by Zhang Zongyi of the Qing Dynasty. The paper has long turned yellow, like an elderly person quietly telling history.

Finally, in the garden on the west side of Fushou Hall, I saw the century-old peony. It was planted by Qin Huan, a xiucai of the Qing Dynasty, and is a peony with a story. This year it unexpectedly bloomed with 72 flowers, greatly surprising the people of Wuxi and once again breaking the record of 52 flowers in 2011.

In the early years of the Tongzhi reign, Wuxi was occupied by the Taiping Army, and Qin Huan went to Kaifeng, Henan, to take refuge. In the second year of Tongzhi, the Qing Dynasty recaptured Wuxi. When Qin Huan returned to Wuxi from Kaifeng, a friend gave him a peony.

After being baptized by a hundred years of wind and rain, it escaped the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution. Several generations carefully tended this peony, and it grew more and more vigorous!

The four large characters on the wall, "Jiabao Guohua", were inscribed by Song Yuanlian, former Minister of Education of the Qing Dynasty. The meaning is that the peony is the Qin family's heirloom, and the Qin family members are the pillars and essence of the nation!

The peony grows so vigorously and healthily, which is inseparable from the careful care of generations of the Qin family. The peony and the Qin family already have deep feelings for each other. It seems that only by blooming the most beautiful flowers can it repay their kindness of care!

The peony understands human nature, and the Qin family also understands the peony's temperament. The fourth-generation daughter-in-law of the Qin family is already 86 years old. People call her Granny Yu. Granny says the peony only likes meaty food, one is pig innards, and the other is fish innards. After composting them until cooked, bury them at the roots, and the peony will definitely bloom incomparably brightly.

Children also like to come to Fushou Hall and draw the many forms of this century-old peony on paper.

This peony has witnessed a hundred years of historical changes in Xiaolou Lane. It is a second-class ancient tree of Wuxi City and a living historical fossil.

This peony even amazed foreigners! In 2014, the British BBC sent dedicated personnel to make a documentary about this peony, and they praised it endlessly!

The 154-year-old peony has a soul. It breathes together with generations of Wuxi people and silently blesses people with happy and fulfilling lives.

The Qin family's heirloom is not gold, silver, or jewels,

but a peony planted 154 years ago,

which, though weathered by vicissitudes,

blooms in a way that astonishes the world,

Huahua hopes this peony can live forever,

and continue to pass on the stories of our generation!