菏泽市

Why this place

Heze is where most Chinese peonies are grown, and every April the city holds the national peony festival. It is also an ancient place — the Battle of Chengpu was fought here, and the Huang Chao uprising began in this region.

What to see

• The Caozhou Peony Garden, with hundreds of varieties flowering in April
• The Heze Museum's Han-dynasty painted tomb materials
• Sun Bin's tomb and the old battlefield heritage of the plain

What to eat

• Shandong plain cooking, with mutton soup and pancakes
• Heze peony-related products — peony tea, oil and pastries

Best time

Mid-April for the peonies; September–October for the plain