Addressing the Japanese parliament yesterday, Premier Wen Jiabao cited some figures, names and events to illustrate China's close and historical ties with Japan

Figures

35: This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations between China and Japan.

207.3 billion: Bilateral trade has rocketed from US$1.1 billion in 1972 to US$207.3 billion last year.

233: The two countries have 233 pairs of friendly cities.

4.8 million: Over 4.8 million personal visits between the two countries were recorded last year.

2,808: A total of 2,808 Japanese orphans were abandoned in China after World War II and raised by their Chinese "parents". The number of orphans who returned to Japan is 2,513.

1.05 million: A total of 1.05 million Japanese immigrants, victims of their country's colonial expansion, were repatriated from China's Huludao port to Japan from 1946 to 1948.

Names:

Nie Rongzhen

In the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Eighth Route Army under the command of General Nie Rongzhen rescued two little Japanese girls. To send them back home, General Nie personally wrote a letter and assigned people to carry them in bamboo baskets during the 170-km journey till they were taken to the Japanese army station safely. One of the girls, Mihoko, came back to Beijing to meet Nie in 1980.

Abe no Nakamaro

Abe no Nakamaro, a scholar, administrator, and waka poet of the Nara period, came to China in 717 during the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907) and passed the civil service examination. He rose to the position of Governor-General, a post he held for six years until 767. He is perhaps best known for the famous poem on the intense longing for his home in Nara. He stayed in China for life, and his monument can still be found in Xiangqing Park in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Buddhist Monk Jian Zhen

Monk Jian Zhen (AD688-763) of the Tang Dynasty was well versed in literature, arts, medicine and architecture. In 743 two Japanese monks studying Buddhism in China traveled especially to Yangzhou to invite Jian Zhen for missionary work in Japan on the request of the Japanese government After some preparation, Jian Zhen, along with some of his disciples, left for Japan by sea. They made six attempts in 10 years to cross the East China Sea, but all them failed. In 753, when he was 66, he made the sixth attempt and finally succeeded, and his dream of preaching Buddhism in Japan came true.