Students from Iowa Ring In The New Year in China Thanks to USCGI and Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Late on December 31, 2024, when the New Year's bell was about to ring, a delegation of 27 young students from Iowa in the United States, invited by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and organized by the US-China Green Foundation, arrived in Changchun, Jilin, starting an 11-day visit to China. The delegation is composed of teachers and students from five universities in Iowa, including Iowa State University and Coe College, majoring in politics, nursing, biology and other majors. This is their first visit to China and they will celebrate the New Year in China.
(The delegation arrived at Changchun Airport late at nignt)
Early in the morning of January 1, 2025, facing the rising sun of the New Year, the delegation went to Changchun Urban Planning Exhibition Hall to learn about the social and economic development of Changchun; explored the profound cultural heritage of Changchun at the Changchun Film Studio Museum, the "cradle of New China's film"; tasted dumplings, the traditional Chinese family banquet symbolizing festival reunion; and watched the magnificent Zigong ice lantern exhibition in Changchun World Sculpture Park, fully experiencing the beauty of history, culture and landscape in the Northeast. Zheng Gang, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Jilin Province, and Gao Shan, the full-time Vice President of the Provincial Friendship Association, specially held a welcome dinner for the delegation.
(Visiting Changchun Urban Planning Exhibition Hall)
All members of the delegation could hardly conceal their excitement and enthusiasm. They all said that they were very glad to visit China at the New Year's Day holiday in response to President Xi Jinping's initiative of "inviting 50,000 American teenagers to come to China for exchange and study in the next five years", and celebrate the New Year with the Chinese people. This is a particularly wonderful and precious experience. They look forward to deepening their understanding of various parts of China through this visit, interacting and communicating with Chinese youth, and becoming good partners and friends.
In the next three days, the delegation will conduct professional exchanges with Jilin University, Jilin Agricultural University, Bethune First Hospital and other institutions in the local area, participate in the opening ceremony of the Vasaloppet International Ski Festival and learn about the development of winter sports in China. After the itinerary in Jilin, the delegation will go to Hebei, Beijing, Guangdong and other places to explore the opportunities for exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in a wide range of fields such as education, agriculture, sister cities and medical care.
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