Ｄｕｎｈｕａｎｇ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｊａｐａｎ ａｎｄ ＲＯＫ

A friendship delegation of Dunhuang City， Gansu Province paid a visit to Japan and the ROK from January 12 to 25， 2007. During its visit to Japan and the ROK， the delegation signed agreements on establishing friendship-city ties between Dunhuang and Nikko City of Japan and between Dunhuang and Namhae County of the ROK， and visited Kamakura and Usuki， Dunhuang’s two friendship cities in Japan， and held meetings in Tokyo and Seoul to advertise Dunhuang’s tourist products.

The Dunhuang friendship delegation led by Mayor Sun Yulong consisted of 34 members from the city’s tourist， urban construction， agricultural and animal husbandry， forestry， educational， commercial， scientific and technological sectors. The delegation first visited Tochigi Prefecture， Japan and signed an agreement on establishing friendship-city relations with Nikko City. Then the delegation arrived in the ROK and signed an agreement on forming friendship-city ties with Namhae County. The two sides， on the basis of equality and mutual benefits， decided to establish friendly cooperative relations， seek exchanges and cooperation in the fields of administration， economy， trade， tourism， science， technology， culture， education， sports and health and promote common prosperity and development in economy and society.

The delegation visited Kamakura and Usuki， Dunhuang’s friendship cities， and attended the unveiling ceremony of the Dunhuang Park in Usuki. Since Dunhuang and Usuki established friendship-city ties， the two cities have carried out increasingly frequent people-to-people exchanges and deepened mutual understanding. In order to promote Japan-China friendly relations， Mr. Seiya Oho， with the fund he collected from the Japanese people， had over 50 tablets erected in the Shazhou Park in Dunhuang with inscriptions engraved on them， most of which are poems， well-known sayings， aphorism and mottos to encourage young people to study hard and make determined efforts to grow up to be useful. These tablets have now become a tourist attraction in the Shazhou Park and are very much liked by the people. This year Seiya Oho again used the fund he collected to have tablets made out of the huge rocks from the North Hill and the Danghe River in Dunhuang with inscriptions engraved on them and had them transported to Usuki with the aim of increasing exchanges and cooperation between the people of the two cities and encouraging the young people in Usuki to be determined to become accomplished persons， and make contributions to the construction of their hometown. At the unveiling ceremony， Mayor Sun Yulong made a speech， expressing his hearty thanks to Seiya Oho and other Japanese friends who cared for and supported friendly exchanges between China and Japan.

During its stay in Tokyo， the delegation paid an official call on Ikuo Hirayama， president of the Japan-China Friendship Association， president of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and goodwill ambassador of the UNESCO. Ikuo Hirayama has dedicated himself to the cause of Japan-China friendship for a long time and is a famous painter who first introduced China’s Silk Road culture to Japan. In September 2002， the Chinese Government awarded him “the Prize for Contribution to Cultural Exchanges”. He always holds， “Though with the changes of the times Japanese culture has formed its own characteristics， every Japanese knows that Japanese and Chinese cultures are of the same origin. That is why the Japanese have the feeling of returning home when they visit Dunhuang and Xi’an.” Ikuo Hirayama said， the delegation’s visit to Japan has played a positive role in promoting exchanges and friendly contacts between the two peoples， particularly in enhancing the Japanese people’s understanding of Dunhuang which has a profound significance and values.

At the meetings advertising Dunhuang’s Tourism held in Tokyo and Seoul， many Japanese and Korean representatives from the tourist industry， the press and airline companies were present. Mayor Sun Yulong introduced Dunhuang’s tourist products. He said， Dunhuang’s development needs care， support and help from friends at home and abroad. Our visit to Japan and the ROK has given us a good opportunity to study， and have exchanges and cooperation with Japanese and Korean friends. The purpose of this meeting is to let the friends from the tourist and press circles know more about Dunhuang. We warmly welcome friends from various circles to visit Dunhuang， make investments and seek common development. The meetings attracted attention among people of various circles and effectively publicized Dunhuang.