Nanshan District China-US Cultural Exchange Ambassador Group Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen Education Center for International Exchange

"Next time when I go to the US,MKsports I will definitely make dumplings for them again, and this time I will succeed," Liu Ruiqin, a student from the Gaoxin Middle School of Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language School (Group) in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times.

Liu is one of the 54 students in the city who experienced a special two-week culture exchange trip to California, the US, during the 2025 Spring Festival holidays. 

During their stay, the students entered local schools, studying together with local students and living in local families. 

Although spending the Spring Festival in a foreign country, Liu and other Chinese students still felt a strong festival atmosphere thanks to a series of celebratory activities students and teachers from both sides organized.   

The activities not only included intangible cultural heritage experiences such as paper-cutting and calligraphy, but also spectacular displays of electronic dragon and lion dances, which combined tradition with technology, attracting a lot of attention. Chinese students staged traditional dances with these high-tech "dragon and lions." Their lively performances allowed the American audience to experience the excitement and festivity of the Spring Festival up close. 

The only pity for Liu during the two journey is that, on Spring Festival eve, Liu and other Chinese students tried to make dumplings for their homestay hosts, but failed to do it.

"Our hosts treated us like their own children. They always wanted to make delicious food for us. Next time if I go to California, I will definitely go to 'say hello' to them!"   

Liu Ruiqin (fourth from left) pose for a photo with students in California, the US. Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen Education Center for International Exchange

In November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in San Francisco an initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year period. 

Nearly 15,000 American youth from all 50 states and DC visited China under the initiative in 2024, overfulfilling the annual target, according to data announced by the Chinese Embassy in the US in January.

The 54 students like Liu were members of the first China-US Cultural Exchange Ambassador Group organized by the Nanshan District Education Bureau in Shenzhen. 

The two-week journey has not only deepened the Chinese students' understanding of American culture, but also bridged the gap between the two sides' cultures and cognition of each other, bringing their hearts closer.   

Jiang Zheng was one of the few elementary school students in the Nanshan district cultural exchange ambassador group. She attended the seventh grade at Oaks Middle School in California. To help the Chinese students integrate into their learning environment more quickly, the American school assigned each student a partner responsible for answering their questions. One thing that deeply shocked Jiang was that her partner, Raymond, assumed that the Chinese students "couldn't speak English." 

Similarly, at De Anza Middle School, where Liu studied, the teachers were also amazed by the Chinese students' English proficiency.

In comparison to Chinese students' fluent English, the US students showed a limited understanding of Chinese culture. Jiang shared an example. "The school offers a sociology course that mainly introduces the history of various countries. One of the classes focused on the Four Great Inventions of China, and students were encouraged to discuss freely. I noticed that my classmates had no understanding of this topic, so I eagerly answered the teacher's questions and introduced my classmates to the origins, uses, and historical significance of the Four Great Inventions."

To enhance cultural exchange and promote understanding between the two sides' students, the 54 little ambassadors from Shenzhen organized various activities to showcase the charm of Chinese traditional cultures with their American hosts. Chinese calligraphy proved incredibly popular. 

The students from both sides also shared their interests, favorite music, and movies. Jiang said that she discussed the music of American singer Taylor Swift and clips from "Kung Fu Panda" with her American classmates. "My American classmates even asked me about the Chinese translation of 'shut up,' and we laughed a lot while spending time together." 

Through her personal experience, Jiang now has a deep understanding of the meaning of communication. She said that "in our shared home on Earth, communication between people from different countries is crucial. Without sufficient communication, there can be no basic understanding. I believe this is the significance of the student ambassador group's visit to the US."

Teachers in California, the US, hold Chinese character "Fu" they write. Photo: Courtesy of Shenzhen Education Center for International Exchange

To Liu, cultural differences could be a good thing leading to communication. Since returning to China, Liu has maintained communication with his American friends despite the 16-hour time difference between Shenzhen and California. During the Lantern Festival, he had a video call with one of his American friends. "I took pictures of yuanxiao (a kind of sweet glutinous rice dumplings Chinese people eat during the Lantern Festival) to share with him and also introduced the making process and how they taste. He replied that it was no wonder he had seen decorations for the Lantern Festival when he went to the supermarket the day before." 

"It is precisely because of the cultural differences between China and the US that cause us to develop an interest in each other when we interact, leading to further understanding and promoting mutual comprehension," Liu said. 

"Whether Chinese or US students, the collision of different thoughts and cultures is a wonderful experience, and both sides can learn from each other," Tony Garcia, the principal of Oaks Middle School, told the Global Times. 

"Most of our students only live within the community, so communication is equally important for them. If given the opportunity, I would be very willing to go to China, and, if possible, I could even serve as a teacher there."

The good news is, in order to help the US partners gain a deeper understanding of China, Shenzhen and California have tentatively agreed to facilitate the visit of a group of US students to China in June this year, the Global Times learned. The story of communication and friendship between Chinese and US students is deemed to continue.