Qionglai,Tajimi aim for friendship cooperation

Chengdu Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

O n June 22， an online ceremony was held for the signing of a memorandum of understanding aimed at establishing friendly cooperation between Qionglai， China， and Tajimi， Japan.

Wang Dechang， mayor of Qionglai， and Masanori Furukawa， mayor of Tajimi， signed the memorandum on behalf of their cities. Chengdu Lailing Investment Group and the Tajimi Pot- tery Wholesale Cooperative Association signed a framework agreement on business cooperation.

Liu Xiaojun， consul-general of China in Nagoya， Japan， and Zhu Dan， director-general of the cultural exchange department of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， delivered online speeches to express their congratula- tions. The foreign affairs office of the Chengdu government， Tajimi City Hall and other departments of the two cities sent representatives to the event.

Qionglai is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Chengdu， Sichuan province. Many people will remember it as the hometown of Zhuo Wenjun， a talented woman of the Han Dynasty （202 BC-AD 220）. The beautiful love story of Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru is perfectly portrayed in the song Feng Courting Huang. （Feng and huang are mythological birds that reign over all other birds.） It was also the first stop on the Southern Silk Road out of Chengdu to the West.

More than 2，000 years ago， the Qionglai kiln， Qionglai tea， Qionglai paper and Qionglai silk became soughtafter goods that caravans transported to regions in the West. Qionglai is also the birthplace of painted porcelain in China. The Qionglai kiln emerged during the Southern Dynasties （420-589） but declined during the Song Dynasty（960-1279）. Its history of more than 800 years is listed in the National Register of Great Sites for Protection.

Tajimi is located in the southern tip of Gifu Prefecture， Japan， northeast of Nagoya， with a history of nearly 1，400 years of pottery production. It has been known as the pottery capital of Japan since ancient times for its production of Mino wares. In recent years， Mino wares have gained increasing popularity in China. According to Japanese authorities， imports of Mino wares in China reached 5.6 billion yen in 2019， and a record 11.9 billion yen（about $110 million） in 2020.

In April 2018， through the efforts of the CPAFFC， Tajimi Mayor Masanori Furukawa was invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the Tianfu Culture Linqiong Cultural and Creative Industrial Park and the Qionglai Kiln Heritage Park in Qionglai. Ties were established， and from then on， the two cities have carried out many exchanges in ceramics， COVID-19 prevention and other things and have seen the friendship grow stronger.

The formal signing of the memorandum of understanding marks a new chapter in exchanges and cooperation between the two cities. The signing of the framework agreement on commercial and trade cooperation also marks the first time for Mino wares， one of the top three Japanese ceramic brands， to be officially recognized in China.

The event was covered by mainstream media outlets， including China. org， China Daily， CRI Online， Yomiuri Shimbun， the official WeChat accounts of the Consulate General of the Peoples Republic of China in Nagoya and others.