The Chinese tour group started off on the morning of September 13 from Beijing's Capital Airport to Japan at their own expense, the first ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Their first destination is Tokyo.

Participating in the group are 100 Beijing tourists, including 60 members from the Head Office of the China Travel Service. They will spend one week on visiting seven Japanese cities including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto; the remaining 40 persons from the Head Office of the China International Travel Service will stay in Japan for nine days, visiting the above-said seven cities and Nagasaki and Fukuoka in Kyushu.

Japan formally became the destination of Chinese citizen's outbound travel last June. The two countries have decided to conduct this trial business first in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The other two cities currently are also organizing sightseeing tours to Japan.

(People's Daily)