A journey of discovery

Their itinerary included iconic landmarks like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, along with hands-on cultural experiences in Shijiazhuang — learning calligraphy, paper-cutting, and Chinese painting, planting trees in Zhengding county, and bonding with Chinese peers over dumpling-making.

At the Badaling section of the Great Wall, American and Chinese students paired up to climb steep staircases, snapping selfies and cheering each other on.

Some held hands for support, while others raced ahead until they finally reached the southern fourth tower — a high vantage point offering a sweeping view of the Great Wall as it snaked through the mountains like a "coiled dragon", as described in Chinese lore.

For Tristan Jorn Reidel of Muscatine High School in Iowa, who was visiting China for the first time, the breathtaking scenery left a lasting impression.

"In Iowa, we have some hills, and I've seen mountains, but this is on a whole different scale," he said, gazing at the distant peaks with his Chinese partner. "It's tiring, but I think it's worth it."

After riding a cable car down the mountain, the students were captivated by the Great Wall souvenirs. From coins to buildable models, they took a piece of Beijing's mountain landscape back to the US.

For many American students like Reidel, this was their first encounter with China.

"I've been to a few countries surrounding it but never actually inside China," said Kaj Espen Larsen, a student also from Muscatine High School, during a tree-planting event in Zhengding county.

"I had a few friends who came on a similar program last year. And the whole summer, they were talking about it and sending me pictures. So, when I heard there was an opportunity to sign up again this year, I was really excited," Larsen said.

The program he mentioned is the Inheritance of Friendship Study Program for Chinese and US teenagers in Hebei and Iowa, launched by bilateral schools in 2023 to mark the 40th anniversary of the sister state-province relationship between Iowa and Hebei.

SFLS has been conducting frequent reciprocal visits and exchanges with sister schools in Iowa since 1997.

Every year, teachers and students from SFLS are dispatched to Iowa, while teachers and students from Iowa's sister schools are invited to visit China.

"At the end of the day, we just both wanted to be friends, sharing our cultures with each other," Larsen said, adding that people from the US and China are more alike than they are different.

His Chinese partner, Yan Yixin, a senior at SFLS, echoed the sentiment. "Cultural differences exist, but mutual respect and curiosity bridge the gaps. Our friendship proves that."