The war between China and Japan decades ago may have soured relations between the two countries for a long time, but 79-year-old Japanese nurse Kyoko Nakamura has nothing but a sweet feeling for China, her longtime home.

She is living in China not only because she embraces Chinese culture, but she is also keen on keeping her promise to her late husband, who always regarded China as his second home.

Nakamura is one of 13 foreigners who will receive the "You Make China Beautiful" award today at a ceremony jointly organized by Tianjin TV and Phoenix TV for their contributions to China.

The 13 recipients were chosen from over 100 foreigners featured in China Right There, a bilingual documentary about foreigners living in China.

Nakamura told the Global Times that China completely changed her life.

She came to China in 1945 when she was 15 years old. She studied at a nursing school at that time, which was taken over by the Chinese army after the defeat of Japan in the World War II.

She became a nurse for the Chinese army. And two years later, she met her husband Hans Miller, a German captain on the surgical team assigned to the battlefield in the Liberation War. Both joined the 8th Route Army, one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China.

"I was brought up in China. China is the second home for me and my husband. We love this land," she said. Although her husband passed away in 1994, she has never thought of leaving China.

Her husband once told her, "Even after my death, you must not leave China. We should do what we can for her."

In 2004, she was among the first to receive a permanent residence permit for foreigners.

The foreigners to be awarded are from a number of countries in the world including South Korea, Mozambique and the US. Some of them are artists and doctors.

Mike and Charlotte MacInnis have been living in China for decades. Their grandfather came to China as a member of the US Flying Tigers to take part in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). Their grandmother gave birth to their father in China.

Both returned to China after graduating from US universities. Mika wants to start a career in China, and Charlotte is a TV host and has appeared in some films.

"I believe my family will be together in China in the near future," Charlotte said.