China–U.S. Youth Mark 55th Anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy with Tree Planting
On April 12, in the Youth Friendship Grove dedicated to the legacy of China–U.S. friendship at Hebei Garden Expo Park, students from Western Carolina University—among them Landon Orr—took up shovels, firmed the soil, steadied young saplings, and carried buckets of water to nurture a new planting of ginkgo trees. With each careful gesture, they rooted not only trees, but hope.
On April 12, at the China–U.S. Youth Friendship Grove in Hebei Garden Expo Park, Landon Orr, a student from Western Carolina University, and his companions planted new saplings together. （Source: CNS）
The occasion marked the 55th anniversary of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.” From April 11 to 12, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, hosted the China-U.S. Friendly Exchanges & Commemoration of 55th Anniversary of China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy alongside commemorative events honoring this historic chapter. Participants included witnesses to the original“Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” American students, and long-time advocates of bilateral friendship, all of whom gathered on the 12th to plant trees as living symbols of connection.
“I'm reminded of something I once heard at school,” Orr reflected. “Good diplomacy is like planting a tree. You may never sit in its shade, but you plant it for those who come after you, to secure a more prosperous future—even as our own generation grows older. This tree stands for a healthier, brighter future between China and the United States. In many ways, I think ‘Ping-Pong Diplomacy’ carries the same spirit.” He added that when he returns to China someday, he hopes to visit the tree again.
Devon Jacob DeLeon, a member of USA Table-Tennis, told reporters that the Friendship Grove holds meaning on both ecological and cultural levels. “I sincerely hope these trees will flourish,” he said, “and grow into a powerful symbol of the deep-rooted ties between our two nations.”
A day earlier, during a visit to Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, the American delegation joined Chinese students in the campus Friendship Grove, tying handwritten wish cards to the branches of ginkgo trees. Each card fluttered gently in the breeze, carrying youthful dreams across borders.
Pei Hongxia, Party Secretary of the school, shared that within this grove, nine trees—including Yulan magnolia, sweet osmanthus , persimmon, and cherry—were planted by friends from Iowa. Each species was chosen with care, balancing seasonal suitability with cultural meaning.
Michael Gammon, a student from Central Academy in Des Moines, Iowa, wrote on his card: “May everyone enjoy equal friendship, and may each person's beauty and prosperity shine.”
“Come September,” Pei added, “when the sweet osmanthus blossoms fill the campus with fragrance, students gather the flowers to make dried sachets. These are then carried by exchange students to Iowa, so that friends far away may breathe in the scent of our school—and feel that they are remembered, that a bond endures across the distance.”（Source: CNS）