A jet's cargo of donated masks is off-loaded at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, on March 3, 2020. [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of China's richest men, internet guru Jack Ma, co-founder of Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant Alibaba, has donated 1 million facial masks to Japan in return for the generous help Japan gave China when the country was hit severely by novel coronavirus 20 days ago.

The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation announced on Monday that the masks will be donated to Japan to help alleviate suffering in the epidemic.

"Like the mountain range that stretches before you and me, let's share the same trials and hardships together. We hope everything will get better soon," Jack said through his Weibo account, citing an old Chinese poem.

The masks, weighing 49.4 tons, were transported by China Eastern Airlines and arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday.