Huangshan Huangguan

Pingyin County, in western Shandong province along the Yellow River, has been China's leading source of edible rose for over a century. The local cultivar, Rosa rugosa (known regionally as Pingyin mei gui), thrives in the area's sandy loam soil and temperate climate. Farmers here have grown roses as a cash crop since the late Qing dynasty, favored for their tight, deeply fragrant buds over ornamental varieties.

The roses are hand-picked in the early morning during a narrow window in late April and May, before the day's heat opens the buds and dissipates their oils, then dried quickly to lock in color and scent.