City introduction
Yamaguchi is home to Yamaguchi government (equivalent if a provincial capital in China). It established a friendly city relationship with Jinan on Sept 20, 1985.
The city is located in western Japan in Yamaguchi's central area, with a population of 191,000 and an area of 730 square kilometers.
Yamaguchi boasts beautiful natural scenery and a pleasant climate, with an annual average temperature of 15 C. The city flower is chrysanthemum and the city tree the ginkgo.
Yamaguchi has a long history. It was originally built in 1360, and with its economic prosperity, culture and street layout all imitating those of Kyoto, it was also known as western Japan's Kyoto – the "Western Kyoto". After suffering a recession, Yamaguchi became a political center in the Edo period, and became famous as the origin of the Meiji Restoration. Yamaguchi formally established the city system in 1929.
Yamaguchi’s industry is mainly in the service and retail industry (73 percent), construction and manufacturing (20 percent), and agriculture (7 percent).
Yamaguchi has relatively advanced education and cultural systems. The city has two universities, five senior high schools, 14 junior high schools and 19 primary schools.
Yamaguchi has two other sister cities:
* Ban Pamplona, Spain, established Feb 19, 1980
* Gongju, South Korea, established Feb 23, 1993
Yamaguchi and Jinan
Since Yamaguchi and Jinan established their sister city relationship, many delegations and leaders of the two cities have visited each other many times, and proceeded with friendly exchanges and cooperation in economic, financial, cultural, educational, sporting and youth fields. People from Japan-China friendship groups in Yamaguchi have voluntarily formed a Yamaguchi Japan-China Friendship Association, which has become an important folk force that actively promotes friendly exchanges between the two cities. On June 20, 2006, Bao Zhiqiang, mayor of Jinan, led a delegation on behalf of the government to visit Yamaguchi. In July 2006, Watanabe Sumitada, mayor of Yamaguchi and Takeda Shou Sheng, president of the city council, led a delegation of 68 people to pay a friendly visit to our city.
