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Heze

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Heze is a large city located in the Shandong province of China. It sits at the western edge of this province. To its east lies Jining. To its south and west, it borders the provinces of Anhui and Henan. The city covers a huge area of about 12,238 square kilometers. More than 10 million people live in this region. Most people there belong to the Han ethnic group. However, you will also find many other groups like the Hui and Manchu.

The weather in Heze changes with four clear seasons. Spring is warm but stays very dry. Summer brings hot and humid days. Most of the rain falls between June and September. Autumn feels crisp and cool. Winter is cold and dry. The city gets a lot of sunshine every year. There are about 2,411 hours of bright sun. Sometimes the weather can be difficult. The area can face floods or droughts.

Heze has a very long and interesting history. The name Heze was chosen in 1735 during the Qing dynasty. It was named after an ancient marsh. This marsh was once a large body of water in the area. In 1949, the city was briefly moved to a different province. It was returned to Shandong just three years later. In 1953, Heze grew larger by gaining new counties. Today, the city manages many districts and counties.

This city is famous for the beautiful peony flower. People call the peony the "king of flowers." In Heze, these flowers come in nine different colors. You can see red, white, purple, and yellow ones. There are also blue, green, black, pink, and multi-colored varieties. Growing these flowers is a very big part of the local economy. In fact, selling peonies brings in over 30% of the city's money. The Caozhou Peony Garden is the largest place to see them.

Visitors to Heze can find many wonderful things to do. You can visit the Caozhou Peony Garden to see many varieties. There is also the One Hundred Lion Square. It features a tall archway with 100 stone lions. If you like history, you can visit the Dingtao Han Tomb. You can also try delicious local foods. Some people enjoy Shanxian lamb soup. Others like peony cake, which is made by mashing flowers with rice.

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