A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in Shizuoka prior to Hangzhou 2022 ©Hangzhou 2022

The "Picturesque Zhejiang, meeting in Mount Fuji" culture and tourism exchange activity series has launched to celebrate the upcoming Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and the 50th anniversary of the restoration of Chinese and Japanese diplomatic trade relations.

A ceremony was held in Shizuoka in Japan and was attended by approximately 100 people with head of the Shizuoka Department of Sports, Culture, and Tourism Kyoji Hitoshi cutting the ribbon.

Ouyang An of the Tourism Office of China in Tokyo was also part of the event.

Head of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism Chu Ziyu and Chen Zeng, Minister of Culture of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan delivered a video speech to help inaugurate the event.

Hangzhou 2022 mascots exchanged gifts with the mascots of Shizuoka and Japan ©Hangzhou 2022
Hangzhou 2022 mascots exchanged gifts with the mascots of Shizuoka and Japan ©Hangzhou 2022

The event also saw Chinese and Japanese representatives expressed their congratulations on the positive relationship maintained between the two countries since the signing of the Japan–China Joint Communiqué on September 29 1972.

Hangzhou 2022 mascots were present in Shizuoka and exchanged gifts with the national Japanese cartoon character Chi-bi Maruko and the city's mascot Fujippi.

The event focused on three themes - "humanistic origin", "picturesque realm", and "meeting at the Asian Games" - which was intended to show off the cultural heritage and landscapes of Zhejiang to Japanese representatives.