An exhibition to mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese ties was unveiled at the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing on Saturday.
The exhibition featured contributions by major Chinese and Japanese figures in promoting friendly relations between the two countries.
With "taking history as a mirror, looking ahead to the future" as its theme, the exhibition traced the process of the normalization of ties between China and Japan.
Tomiichi Murayama, a former Japanese prime minister, came to the memorial hall and shook hands warmly with Bai Jiefu, a Chinese veteran of the eight-year war. Murayama's inscription wishing for lasting friendship and peace between the two countries was displayed in the hall.
Shinichiro Shiranishi, chairman of the executive council of the Japan-China Society, said that, since China sent envoys to Japan during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), history has witnessed frequent exchanges between the two countries.
"I wish that China and Japan will become good friends," said Wang Hao, an 11-year-old boy from the Primary School of Lugou Bridge.
A frequent visitor to the memorial hall, Wang said he has learned a great deal of history here.
Professor Fukuo Iwazaki, a Chinese literature expert at Japan's Meiji University, said that he comes to China every year.
"People of our two countries should make efforts to maintain our friendship forever," he added.
The hall was decorated by paper cranes, the Japanese symbol of peace, and an enormous photograph of smiling students holding a banner which reads "For Sino-Japanese friendship generation after generation. For everlasting peace for human beings."
(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2002)
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