A 1,000-member Japanese youth delegation has started their tour of China with different groups visiting Shanghai and Hangzhou in the east, Chongqing and Chengdu in the west, Guangzhou in the south and Dalian in the north respectively.

Led by Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Osamu Uno, the delegation consisted of 500 high school students, 200 university students and 300 young representatives from all walks of life.

Japanese students write Chinese characters reading Peace during their visit to a school in Dalian of northeast China's Liaoning Province on March 11, 2008. A total of 1,000 Japanese youth arrived in China on Monday for a seven-day tour of the country to mark the start of the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth. The Japanese delegation, breaking into small groups, will respectively visit such cities as Shanghai and Hangzhou in the east, Chongqing and Chengdu in the west, Guangzhou in the south and Dalian in the northeast and hold get-togethers with their Chinese peers.(Xinhua Photo)