On the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, Muscatine, a small town in Iowa, USA, was immersed in the rich Chinese "New Year" and friendly atmosphere all day. From cordial exchanges to the lively "Spring Festival Gala", new and old friends from China and the United States celebrated the Year of the Dragon together. Among them, there are Ms. Sara Landi, who has been friends with the chairman for decades, Muscatine high school students who were invited to visit China not long ago, Chinese teenagers who meet friends with art, and local people who help the elderly and children to perform.
Happy Chinese New Year to all! In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, Randy greeted Chinese friends for the New Year. The silver-haired old man said she was glad to see her Chinese friends bring the "New Year's flavor" to Muscatine and gather with the American people.
On February 9, in Muscatine, Iowa, USA, the art troupe of the High School Affiliated to the National People's Congress performed martial arts. On the morning of the 9th local time, the art troupe of the High School Affiliated to the Chinese University from Beijing held an exchange in Muscatine, feeling the enthusiasm of trans-Pacific friendship. In the Muscatine High School auditorium, the school's school band welcomes new friends from afar with symphony and jazz. Local students waved as Chinese students walked by. In front of the famous "Sino-US Friendship House" in Muscatine, youthful faces took a group photo there.
On February 9, in Muscatine, Iowa, USA, the art troupe of the High School Affiliated to the National People's Congress took a group photo in front of the "Sino-US Friendship House". The year 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the friendship between Hebei Province and Iowa. Zhao Jian, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Chicago, said that over the past 40 years, the two sides have achieved remarkable results in friendly exchanges and cooperation in economic, trade, people-to-people and cultural fields, benefiting the people of the two places and setting an example for China-US friendly exchanges.
Muscatine, a small city on the banks of the Mississippi River, continues to write stories of friendship with China. **Visited Iowa twice in 1985 and 2012 and forged strong friendships with friends such as Randy. In November 2023, at the joint welcome banquet of American friendship groups in San Francisco, President ** recalled the unforgettable experience of first face-to-face contact with the American people, and expressed his expectation that the two peoples would "jointly continue to write the story of friendship between the two peoples in the new era." In his speech, the President also announced that China is willing to invite 50,000 American teenagers to China for exchange and study in the next five years.
Randy was sitting in the audience listening to the speech. She has since written to the president of *** asking Muscatine High School to participate in the program as well. ** The Chair replied welcoming the letter.
On February 9, in Muscatine, Iowa, USA, new and old friends from China and the United States celebrated the New Year of the Dragon. On the afternoon of the 9th, at the scene of the celebration of the Spring Festival, the principal of Muscatine High School, Ryan Castle, told reporters that the school had organized 24 students to go to China for exchanges in late January, and visited Beijing, Shanghai and Hebei Province. He himself is preparing to lead 50 students to China in April.
On February 9, in Muscatine, Iowa, USA, Chinese and American teenagers held an exchange. Leo Regenit, a student at Muscatine High School, was one of the students who took part in the exchange trip to China in January. He told reporters that before he went to China, he never expected China to be so vast. "The trip to China was fantastic! "It's a life-changing trip." ”
Regenitt recalled that they interacted with three Chinese middle schools, including the High School Affiliated to the National People's Congress, and formed "partners" with their Chinese peers to chat about each other's lives with great interest, which was a very valuable experience during his trip to China. "China is so big, I would love to see it again and explore more places. ”
On January 29th, Muscatine students participated in a dragon dance experience in Shanghai. The just-concluded exchange to China was the only trip abroad for student Sienna Stonekin. "We went to a lot of good 'cool' places and felt such a beautiful culture. Stonekin told reporters that her favorite activity is to communicate face-to-face with Chinese teenagers, listen to each other introduce their daily lives, and talk about Chinese New Year customs, especially Chinese food. "I also learned how to make Chinese knots! She said excitedly.
Stonekin was particularly impressed by the diligence of his Chinese peers. After this trip, she wanted to spend more time learning Chinese and even had the idea of going to university in China. "The future lies with young people, who need to experience different cultures to better understand each other and build lifelong friendships. She said.
On January 28, students from the Second Affiliated School of Fudan University (left) introduced Chinese knots to Muscatine students (right). On Chinese New Year's Eve, the Muscatine High School auditorium was packed with more than 600 people. Elegant and fresh folk dance, Chinese martial arts with golden dragons flying, energetic aerobics ......The "Spring Festival Gala" performance brought by the Art Troupe of the High School Affiliated to the National People's Congress won bursts of applause, and the cheers on the scene came one after another. The audience not only included teachers and students from Muscatine High School, but also many local citizens, many of whom came together as a family.
At the end of the performance, many local residents enthusiastically communicated with the Chinese youth. Ma Mayue, a Chinese student in her second year of high school, told reporters that some local residents warmly invited them to their homes, "They are so enthusiastic!" ”
This is the first time that Ding Xingyue, a freshman in high school, has left home for the New Year, and it is also the first time to come to the United States.
Qiu Xinguangyao, a sophomore in high school, also became friends with an American student. "He has studied Chinese for five or six years, and we can communicate fluently in Chinese. "It's a very precious opportunity and we're going to continue that friendship." ”
Chinese often say: Read 10,000 books, travel 10,000 miles. We look forward to the two-way journey of Chinese and American youths to build more bridges between the two peoples.
Chief Planner: Lv Yansong.
Planner: Ni Siyi, Ban Wei, Xu Xingtang.
Producer: Feng Junyang, Han Mo, Yang Shilong.
Co-ordinator: Qi Zijian, Yan Junyan, Sun Hao.
Reporter: Xu Jing Xie Yi.
Editors: Sun Hao, Chen Shan, Han Liang, Liang Yi, Xu Chao, Huang Xingwei, Chen and Tang De, Wang Fengfeng, Ma Xiao.
Editor: Shen Haoyang.
Photography: Xu Jing, Xie Yi, Wang Xiang.
*Participating reporters: Chen Jie, Yang Kai.
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency.