In Chinese, "youhao" means "friendship". The square was built in the Tsarist Russia colonial period, and changed its name to "West Plaza" under Japanese reign. Later for the sake of commemorating the friendship between PRC and the Soviet Union, the name of "Youhao" was initiated, and after renovation, in 1996 a giant "crystal ball" was set up. The ball is said to stand for the image of the city as the "China's Northern Pearl", and the five colors of the "hands" upholding it represent the five different ethnic colors from the five continents.