Shaanxi Province and Kyoto Prefecture of Japan built the province-prefecture friendship on July 16, 1983. In 2003, in order to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the friendship between the two places, the citizens in Kyoto Prefecture participated in the tree planting activity voluntarily, which aimed at the ecological environment protection of Qinling Mountains and the promotion of the friendly exchange between the two sides. They planted hundreds of pines and cypresses in South Wutai, symbolizing the evergreen friendship between the two countries. The governments of the two places set up a monument for good will.

Shaanxi Province and Kyoto Prefecture are both the cradles of Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges. The exchanges between the two places have gone across thousands of years of time and space. The pioneers of the Sino-Japanese friendship have left important traces in the ancient Chang'an City in Shaanxi, China and Heiankyo, Kyoto, Japan. In 1972, the normalization of the diplomatic relations between China and Japan was resumed. Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei presented a batch of larch trees to our country. With the approval of Premier Zhou Enlai, 80 of the larch trees were planted in Tasi Gully in South Wutai. The larch trees have been rooted in the Qinling Mountains, branches and leaves are lush, and they have become a symbol of the friendship between the people of China and Japan.