A DELEGATION from Tacoma, Washington, the U.S., visited Nanshan on Monday, making stops at the district’s ancient landmarks and tech hubs. This was their first visit since Nanshan and Tacoma officially established friendship ties last November.

Headed by Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen, the delegation — comprising city officials, teachers, and students from Lincoln High School — was first welcomed by an energetic Yingge dance and an elegant classical dance performed by elementary school students at Nantou Ancient Town.

Ibsen, on his second visit to China, called himself a fan of Chinese history and described the Yingge dance as “marvelous.” He also mentioned the significance of grassroots people-to-people exchanges.

“Whatever happens nationally or internationally, here on the local level we believe in common sense and working together.”

Blending Lingnan culture with contemporary creativity, Nantou Ancient Town is a must-visit for tourists and leisure-seekers.

At the Idea Factory, the guests teamed up with students from Nanshan No. 2 Foreign Language School for a lively table tennis match.

The guests were so impressed by the Chinese students’ skills that Dell Sweeris, a former U.S. champion and key figure in the Sino-U.S. ping-pong diplomacy in the 1970s, began chatting with the students and sharing his expertise. The visitors also tried traditional Chinese crafts such as weaving and rubbings.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited INNO100 at Shenzhen Bay Cultural Plaza, the first officially authorized innovation store in China of the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. There, they experienced cutting-edge gadgets firsthand, including smart glasses, exoskeleton wearables, 3D printers, and embodied AI robots.

Charlotte, a 12th-grader from Lincoln High School, tried on an exoskeleton wearable and was amazed at how much easier it made walking.

The final stop was Shenzhen Talent Park, where the guests enjoyed the coastal scenery and tested a food delivery service by drone.

Coincidentally, in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Lincoln High School in Tacoma during his first state visit to the U.S.

(Debra Li)