by Xinhua writers Ding Yimin, Fu Shuangqi, Zuo Yuanfeng

    ZHANJIANG, Guangdong, June 28 (Xinhua) -- "Please send the love and friendship of the Chinese navy and people back to Japan," Lt. Gen. Su Shiliang, commander of the South Sea Fleet of China, said to Major-Gen. Shinichi Tokumaru of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.

    After a five-day visit to China, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer "Sazanami" left the southern Guangdong Province port city of Zhanjiang on Saturday morning.

Two Chinese mariner untie the cable of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer "Sazanami" at the port of Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, June, 28, 2008. The destroyer Sazanami left Zhanjiang on Saturday after a five-day visit to China. Sazanami, with its 240-member crew, is the first Japanese warship to visit China since World War II.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Sazanami, with its 240-member crew, is the first Japanese warship to visit China since World War II.

    During its five days in port, the Japanese crew visited the Chinese missile destroyer "Shenzhen" and toured Zhanjiang's urban area. They also played basketball, football and tug-of-war with the Chinese crew in the rain that has blasted southern China of late.

    About 1,000 locals visited the Sazanami with smiles and excitement since it was opened to the public on Friday, the first time a visiting Japanese warship had been open to the Chinese public.

    "I was always impressed by Japan's scientific and technological development," said Pan Chenkai, a 15-year-old middle school boy, after visiting the naval destroyer.

    Pan was a local resident of Zhanjiang who has just finished his entrance examination for high school. "We should not only think negatively of Japan. We can learn from its advanced technology," he said.

    The charcoal gray warship, with a Japanese national flag and a flag of the Self-Defense Forces flying fore and aft, berthed alongside the silver gray Chinese warship "Shenzhen" at the dock of Zhanjiang.

Local residents visit Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer "Sazanami" in Zhanjiang, a port city of south China's Guangdong Province, June 27, 2008. Several hundred locals visited "Sazanami" since it was opened to the public on Friday during its five-day visit to China. Chinese and Japanese military bands also gave live performances for visitors. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SMILES,PHOTOS AND SONGS

    On Friday afternoon, the sky turned sunny after several days of rain brought by tropical storms. People boarded the ship, wearing sun hats and carrying digital cameras, relaxed as if going for an outing.

    On the neat decks, all the major weapons -- such as the "vertical launch system" and the "close-in weapon system" -- had name signs enclosed in glass and aluminum picture frames.

    Many visitors smiled and posed for photos beside a portrait of the ship's mascot, a legendary Japanese boy.

    Among the crowds, some primary school children were queuing up to get onboard. A couple with a young son invited Japanese soldiers, who were clad in white uniforms, to have a photo taken with them.

Visitors ask a mariner of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force for signature at the port of Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, June 28, 2008.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Some children who came to visit on their summer vacation tried to talk with the Japanese guards in English. A few middle-aged andelderly ladies waited to get souvenir stamps for their postcards of the "Sazanami".

    A group of young male engineering students were involved in a heated debate in front of some weapons. More just took pictures with the Japanese warship as the background.

    At the dock, the melancholy strains of Peking opera could be heard, followed by the lively theme song of the popular Japanese cartoon series, Doraemon. The music was being played by the Chinese and Japanese military bands for visitors.

    Jin Huixin, a 30-year-old Shanghai middle school teacher, had waited for a chance to visit a Japanese warship for many years. Jin, a warship enthusiast, flew to Zhanjiang to see the Japanese destroyer upon the first day it arrived.

    "I have seen 23 warships from 15 countries that came to visit China, but I never had a chance to see a Japanese warship."

    Despite the Japanese national flag on the ship, which still reminds many Chinese of Japanese military atrocities, the warship also brought smiles to the visitors.

    "The visit shows that China and Japan have accepted each other and will promote a strategic, mutually beneficial relationship in the 21st century," said professor Gao Hong of the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Local residents visit Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer "Sazanami" in Zhanjiang, a port city of south China's Guangdong Province, June 27, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>