28th Luoyang Peony Festival Opens

BEIJING, April 4 -- The 28th Luoyang Peony Festival opened in Luoyang City in central China's Henan Province on Thursday.

With dancing and singing performances as highlights, the opening ceremony was held in Sui Tang Relics Botanical Garden, one of the city's many peony parks.

Besides viewing the grandeur of peony flowers, which is crowned as the national flower of China, the festival has also been organizing photography contests and talent shows.

To promote its high-speed railway system that connects neighboring cities including Xi'an and Zhengzhou, organizers of the festival offer fifty percent discount peony garden tickets to out-of -city travelers who come by high-speed train.

The festival runs from April 1st to May 5th, 2010.