This photo taken on July 9, 2025 shows peony-themed decorations displayed at a local company's exhibition hall in Heze City, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Cui Bowen)

 
At a war memorial museum in the city of Heze, Shandong province, primary school student Xie Jiayi was rehearsing a heroic story of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression from over 80 years ago, preparing for a speech contest.

When Japan's full-scale invasion began in 1937, Shandong, with its abundant resources and strategic location linking north and south, became the invaders' primary target and fell under their control.

With the nation's survival at stake, the Eighth Route Army waged guerrilla warfare in rural areas, disrupting Japanese supply lines. In response, Japanese aggressors launched brutal sweeps, often paired with the "burn all, kill all, loot all" policy.

Xie's hero, Eighth Route Army member Qin Xingti, sacrificed during one such sweep in 1943.

At Liugang Village, 74-year-old volunteer guide Liu Quanyi recalled the tragedy: Japanese troops herded villagers into a pit, torturing them for Eighth Route Army secrets. To save the villagers, Qin stepped forward: "I am a Communist! I am an Eighth Route Army soldier!"

"That meant certain death in occupied territory," Liu said.

Qin was among over 35 million Chinese casualties in the war against Japanese aggression lasting from 1931 to 1945. "My father told me this story, and I shall pass it on," Liu added.

Today, the pit where villagers were once imprisoned has been turned into a square featuring a monument to Qin and fitness facilities.

Nearby, workers are constructing two-story homes. The first floor can be used for commercial purposes and the second floor for residence, villagers noted.

"As we develop revolutionary education tourism around war relics, the village is expected to draw more visitors and boost incomes," said Kong Fanyu, the town's Party secretary.

This is how Heze honors its past by building prosperity on soil once scarred by war.

The city's transformation mirrors its iconic peonies, the symbol of wealth in Chinese culture, now blooming into a modern industry.

A local company's exhibition hall displays peony-produced oil, tea and facial masks. "We've expanded peony-based products into cosmetics, health foods, and supplements as demand for wellness grows," said company president Li Jinghao.

She added that the peony flower pastry rolled out this year has received a positive market response.

Beyond peonies, Heze has been working to diversify its economy by boosting pillar industries, such as biomedicine and high-end chemicals, while laying out clusters of emerging sectors like new energy, information technology and modern services.

Over the past decade, these efforts have lifted the city's gross domestic product from Shandong's bottom ranks to the mid-tier, turning wartime resilience into high-quality development vitality.