Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden

Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden

The Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden is a cultural heritage site protected by Heilongjiang Province.

Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden

At the foot of Paotai Mountain, east of Fangzheng County in Heilongjiang Province, lies an international garden — the only one of its kind in China — the "Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden." The predecessor of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden was the "Fangzheng Japanese Cemetery," which was established in 1963 with the approval of the beloved Premier Zhou Enlai. To understand the origins of the Japanese cemetery, we must go back to August 1945, after Japan announced its surrender. Japanese settlers still remaining in the Northeast scattered in groups, searching for ways to return home. Settlers from Huinan, Huanan, and Tangyuan counties near Jiamusi traveled by night and hid by day, braving mountains and rivers. They eventually joined up with settlers from Linkou and Yilan counties, planning to pass through Fangzheng County on their way to Zhuhe County (now Shangzhi City), then onward to Harbin to return to Japan. By the time they gathered in the area of the Japanese Settlement Headquarters (present-day Jixing Village, Yihaantong Township) and the Agricultural Cooperative (now Fangzheng County Comprehensive High School) in Yihaantong Township, Fangzheng County, it was late autumn, and their numbers had exceeded 15,000. Exhausted from the long journey, weakened physically, and facing the harsh winter with insufficient food and clothing, many settlers succumbed to hunger, cold, and epidemics. However, the people of Fangzheng chose compassion over revenge, aiding and sheltering the surviving women and children.

After the liberation, the Fangzheng County Government built a Japanese cemetery at the northern foot of Paotai Mountain. The tomb is circular, with a diameter of 3 meters, a height of 1.5 meters, and a vaulted cement structure. A 3-meter-high granite stele faces north, inscribed with “Fangzheng Japanese Cemetery.” Inside the tomb lie the remains of more than 5,000 Japanese settlers. To the east of the “Fangzheng Japanese Cemetery” is the “Mashan Japanese Cemetery,” identical in shape, structure, material, and scale. It houses the remains of over 500 settlers originally from the Mashan area of Jixi, relocated here in October 1984. In 1995, with the approval of the Fangzheng County Government, the “Fangzheng Japanese Cemetery” was renamed the “Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden.” All of this reflects the broad-mindedness and noble humanitarian spirit of the Chinese people.

After the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, the Japanese government and various civil groups have visited Fangzheng annually for friendly exchanges, sightseeing, and cemetery visits. The “Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden” has become a bridge for communication between the peoples of China and Japan, a symbol of friendship between the two nations, as well as a testament to the history of Japanese militarism’s invasion of China. Both peoples have designated the theme of the garden as “Remember History, Cherish Peace!”

Later, a Japanese individual added new meaning to the “Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden.” He is Mr. Shoichiro Fujiwara, a friend of the Chinese people and an expert in rice cultivation. In the 1980s, Mr. Fujiwara came to Fangzheng County to teach dry nursery and sparse planting techniques for upland rice, doubling local rice yields and achieving a major breakthrough. The people of Fangzheng subsequently spread this technique across the Three North regions (Northeast, North, and Northwest China), benefiting even more people.

To commemorate Mr. Fujiwara’s significant contributions, and with the approval of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fangzheng County Government erected the Shoichiro Fujiwara Monument in September 2004 within the “Sino-Japanese Friendship Garden.” Covering an area of 225 square meters, the monument stands 2.74 meters tall, with a dark red marble body and white marble railings around its base. The front of the monument is inscribed with “Shoichiro Fujiwara Monument,” while the back features an inscription detailing his achievements.

Address: Paotai Mountain, Fangzheng County, Harbin City