Blooming Friendship

摘要

In 1912, the Japanese government gave America cherry blossom trees to represent goodwill between the two nations. The cherry blossoms planted in Washington, D.C. have become an unofficial marker of the spring, and millions of visitors flock to the annual festival that occurs during the trees' peak blooming season. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the gesture from Japan, the Department of State wanted to return the favor. The U.S. decided to send the country 3,000 dogwood trees - the first official, large-scale gift offering of its kind.