Sister city since: June 15, 1991

Overview

Aizuwakamatsu is located in the west of Fukushima Prefecture. With a history of more than 120 years, the city boasts the Tsuruga Castle which was built 600 years ago. It is also a famous tourist city in northeastern Japan. The city is home to the top traditional lacquerware and sake brewing producers in Japan. The local sake won gold medals at the Japan Sake Awards many times. The city is a big supplier of rice, peach, grape and persimmon, and specializes in electronics, precision instruments and integrated circuits.

Relations withJingzhou

With the support of Hubei Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, friendly exchanges between Jingzhou (formerly Shashi) and Aizuwakamatsu started in 1985. On June 15, 1991, with the approval of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Jingzhou and Aizuwakamatsu formally established the sister city tie.

Over the past 30 years, the two cities have maintained frequent high-level interactions. Government delegations have been sent to each other for friendly visits. Jingzhou has sent nearly 300 people in 37 delegations to Aizuwakamatsu and received 45 visits with a total of 800 people from Aizuwakamatsu.

In 2001, on the special occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of sister city relations, Aizuwakamatsu donated 1,000 cherry trees to Jingzhou. To mark the 20th anniversary of the sister city tie, a Friendship Pavilion in Aizu Garden, which symbolizes the friendship between the two cities, was built in 2013.

In 2019, at the second Hubei (Jingzhou) Garden Expo, Aizuwakamatsu Garden, as the representative of the sister cities’ gardens, showed the historical and cultural characteristics of Aizuwakamatsu. In the same year, a Jingzhou government delegation visited Aizuwakamatsu, during which they participated in the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the city’s founding.

Since the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, Aizuwakamatsu and the Japan-China Friendship Association donated masks and protective suits to Jingzhou.

The two cities have witnessed robust people-to-people exchanges. Fruitful outcomes have been achieved in cooperation in health care and youth exchanges. The two cities jointly held the 19th Youth Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition. What’s more, 40 doctors in Jingzhou were invited to study in Japan as part of the partnership.

The two peoples now have better understanding of each other. Looking forward, Jingzhou and Aizuwakamatsu will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation at multiple levels and in various areas, in a bid to bring benefits to people of both cities.