Shanxi Province（山西省・英語）

The relationship between Saitama Prefecture and Shanxi Province was strengthened through the “Japan-China Friendship Program: Saitama Prefecture Seinen-no-Tsubasa (Wings of Youth)” in November 1978 and the “Japan-China Friendship Boat” in May 1979, reaching a friendship agreement in October 1982.

About Shanxi Province

Shanxi is an inland province located southwest of Beijing, in the middle reaches of the Huang He (Yellow River). The province is rich in mineral resources such as high-quality coal, and  it is famous for its abundant historical and cultural heritage sites, including the Yungang Grottoes, one of China's three major cave clusters registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and Mount Wutai, one of the four most sacred Buddhist mountains in China. The Saitama Prefecture-Shanxi Province Friendship Museum (Shin'i-kan), which was opened in May 1992 in the Saitama town of Ogano, provides information about the province, including its culture and nature.

Main exchanges with Saitama Prefecture

- Visit by the Deputy Governor of Shanxi Province to Saitama Prefecture (1984, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2001~2004, 2007, 2012, 2023, and 2024)

- Training program for researchers in the medical field (since 1984)

- Training program for researchers in the environmental field (since 1992)

- Participation in the Saitama International Junior Football Tournament (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010)

- Official visits to by the Governor of Saitama Prefecture to Shanxi Province (2006, 2009)

- Scholarship program for students in Saitama to study at Shanxi University (since 2006)

- “Study in Saitama Program” for students of Shanxi Medical University to study in Saitama (since 2010)

- Visit by the Communist Party Secretary of Shanxi Province to Saitama Prefecture (2012)

- 100 Senior high school students from Shanxi Province visit Saitama Prefecture (2015)

- 50 University students from Shanxi Province visit Saitama Prefecture (2017)

- Delegation visit by the Deputy Director of Shanxi Provincial People's Congress (2018)

- Delegation visit by the Governor of Shanxi Province (2019)

- Conducted an online exchange event between Japanese and Chinese university students (2021)

- Online exchange through the fields of culture (calligraphy), elderly welfare and environment (2022)

- Visit by the Executive Director of the Department of Public Services and other staff to Shanxi Province (2023) 

- Online exchange for high school students in Saitama Prefecture and Shanxi Province to share their countries' cultures (2023) 

- Visit by university students from Saitama Prefecture to Shanxi Province (2024)