Medicinal cultivation began in the Han Dynasty. In 1972, peony was found in the Han tomb in Wuwei, Gansu Province to treat "blood stasis". Ornamental cultivation began in the Tang Dynasty. Gansu is close to Guanzhong and Chang 'an, the political, economic and cultural centers of Sui and Tang Dynasties, and is a part of the prosperous Silk Road. Ornamental cultivation developed in Song Dynasty (Jin Dynasty). Due to frequent wars, no written records have been found, but we can know from archaeological excavations that peony has become one of the themes of folk art and decorative sculpture. The variety group was formed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and there are many written records. Traditional varieties such as "Fotouqing", "Green Butterfly" and "Taishihuang" have been handed down at least from the Qing Dynasty and before. The variety group was discovered and studied after 198s, and Li Jiajue's "Linxia Peony" is a new starting point for the research and development of this variety group.

The traditional planting areas of Paeonia lactiflora are distributed in the west of Xi 'an, Shanxi, east of Xining, Qinghai, Ningxia and south of Gansu, mainly forming the center of variety origin, evolution and cultivation in Gansu, and distributing to other northwest areas such as Qinghai, Shanxi and Ningxia. There are more than 3 varieties of Paeonia suffruticosa, which are intensively cultivated and distributed in Lanzhou, Linxia, Lintao, Longxi and other places in Gansu Province. Its planting scale, variety number and influence abroad make it the second largest variety group of Paeonia suffruticosa in China after Paeonia suffruticosa in the Central Plains.

the introduction and cultivation abroad began in 1925 ~ 1926. Joseph Charles Francis Rock collected seeds of Paeonia rockii in a Lama Temple in zhuoni, Gannan, and sent them to Arnold Arboretum in the United States for successful sowing, and then they were spread all over the world. After 199s, foreign countries began to introduce and plant Paeonia suffruticosa sporadically, and in recent years, large-scale seedling export began. Lanzhou Peony Horticulture Company and Yuzhong Heping Peony Garden are the two largest companies that export purple peony, but the former is larger and stronger. Domestic introduction and cultivation are carried out sporadically in various historical stages. In 1996, the fourth annual meeting of Peony and Peony Branch of China Horticultural Association was held in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, which made domestic peony experts realize Paeonia lactiflora for the first time, and made Paeonia lactiflora widely spread and planted in the whole country, especially in North China and Central Plains. Marked by the success of Lanzhou Peony Horticulture Company in introducing and cultivating Paeonia lactiflora for Peony Garden in Shenyang Botanical Garden, the promotion and planting activities of Paeonia lactiflora in Northeast China have been vigorously carried out since 23. Subsequently, Paeonia lactiflora has been widely planted in cold and arid areas in northern China such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet, and the promotion and planting of Paeonia lactiflora in the whole country has entered an all-round development period.