Nineteen hundred and ninety- nine peonies, China's leading flower and a token of prosperity and peace, from Luoyang, the "peony city" in central China, will be blossoming in Macao on December 20 when Macao returns to the embrace of the motherland.

Three experienced gardeners have been sent to the city of Nahai in south China's Guangdong Province where the flowers are now planted to take care of them and ensure that 1,999 peonies will bloom on that exact day.

Luoyang has been growing peony for more than 1,000 years, and has become a tourism city thanks to the lovely plants. The city has invested over 100 million yuan (about 12 million US dollars) in the industry, said Wang Quanle, the city's vice mayor.