A DELEGATION of high school students from Washington state, the U.S., visited Shenzhen this week as part of a program dedicated to promoting communication and exchanges between youth in the United States and China. The delegation includes students and staff members from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his trip to the United States in November 2023, announced a program that will invite 50,000 American youth to China for exchanges and study over the next five years.

The delegation arrived in Shenzhen on Sunday evening, visiting places such as the Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve and Nanshan Foreign Language School (Group) Senior High School the following day.

Early Monday morning, the young visitors embarked on a tour of Shenzhen, utilizing the city’s famed electric sightseeing buses to reach the Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve. There, they marveled at the natural beauty that Shenzhen has to offer.

The tour continued to Shenzhen’s tallest open-air observation deck — the catwalk atop the 360-meter tall Shenzhen Bay Intelligence Center in the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base. The building is dubbed a “Mirror of the Sky.” From this vantage point, they enjoyed a panoramic view of the city.

Following the breathtaking views, the group participated in a tree-planting event near the Qianhai Shuangjiehe River estuary. The 24 American students paired with peers from Shenzhen’s Nanshan Foreign Language School to plant trees that symbolize their burgeoning friendship.

In the afternoon, the U.S. delegation joined students from Nanshan Foreign Language School to immerse themselves in Shenzhen’s school life. Activities included dancing, singing, playing games, painting, paper-cutting, sports, robot assembly, and dumpling making, among other cultural exchanges.

The delegation concluded their Guangdong tour yesterday morning, departing from the Shenzhen airport to Beijing. Later in the afternoon, they boarded a flight back to the United States.

All 24 students in the delegation visited China for the first time.

The delegation’s China trip began in Beijing on March 17 and proceeded to Shiyan in Hubei Province on March 22 and Guangzhou on March 23.

(Liu Minxia)