A group of Japanese scholars and diplomats made their
"experience trip" in east China's Jiangsu Province on Friday in
memory of the envoys dispatched to China more than 1,000 years
ago.
The tour group, headed by Virginia Anami, a Japanese scholar on
east Asian history, visited the relics of a town of Tang Dynasty
(618-907) in Yangzhou City.
Anami said she used to travel to Yangzhou five times because it
was the hometown of Chinese monk Jianzhen (688-763), who dedicated
himself to fostering the friendship between Chinese and Japanese
peoples.
Japan sent the first batch of envoys to China in the year 607
and later kept dispatching envoys to China for 18 times during a
period of more than 200 years, who also contributed to the
friendship of the two peoples, said Anami.
"We hope China and Japan can respect each other and live in
harmony like they did more than 1,000 years ago," Anami said in
Chinese. "In our trip we will savor the remarkable stories the
envoys had experienced."
The "experience tour" was initiated early this year. Another has
been planned for a trip to China's Xi'an and Luoyang cities in
autumn this year.
(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2007)
