Internal working platform of Yunnan Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

"The beauty of Kunming is beyond imagination." "It's so wonderful to see a more real and three-dimensional China." "Everyone we met was so warm and friendly." "The food in Yunnan is absolutely delicious." ... On the bus, a group of American students eagerly shared their impressions of Yunnan, their laughter and joy echoing all around.

From March 17 to 23, at the invitation of the China-US Friendship Association, the China-US Exchange Foundation organized a youth student delegation from Johns Hopkins University in the United States to visit Beijing and Kunming. This was one of the first student delegations from the university to visit China after President Xi Jinping announced last November that China would invite 50,000 American youth to come to China for exchange and study over the next five years.

On the morning of the 21st, students from Johns Hopkins University visited the Donglu Campus of Yunnan University to engage in in-depth exchanges with the faculty and students of Yunnan University. During the more than two-hour symposium, the two sides discussed more than a dozen topics of mutual interest.

"Yunnan is an important window of China opening up to regions such as Southeast Asia. This symposium has given us a deeper understanding of Yunnan's local conditions and China's opening up to the outside world," said Mathilde Bach. "The younger generation of Americans need to experience China more closely to better understand it."

She said, "I hope that exchanges between Chinese and American youth will continue to increase. China's proposal to 'invite 50,000 American youth to come to China for exchange and study over the next five years' is a very good start."

Zhu Wenqing, a doctoral student at Yunnan University who participated in the symposium, stated that this was a highly fruitful academic exchange for both sides, and the academic perspectives and research angles of the American students also brought her great inspiration.

"I hope that our exchanges will become 'seeds' that continue to take root and sprout in the future," said Zhu Wenqing.

The Flying Tigers Memorial Hall inside the Kunming Museum was a special stop for the students on this trip.

During World War II, a group of American young pilots, led by General Chennault, went to the Chinese battlefield to form the famous Flying Tigers, fighting together with the Chinese people against the invaders and writing a touching "Flying Tiger friendship" between the Chinese and American peoples.

Inside the memorial hall, old photographs and relics of the past pull the students' thoughts back to the era of fierce war. Among them, a special exhibit draws the attention of many students who stop to look closely—it is a blood SOS talisman written in 17 languages, which a member of the Flying Tigers who flew the Hump route used to carry with him.

A student couldn't help but exclaim: "Perhaps war is long gone from us, so long that we occasionally forget how cruel war is. But we should not forget war, nor should we forget how we once fought side by side."

"In wartime, Sino-American cooperation is possible; in peacetime, we should cooperate hand in hand." said Angelica Patton. She had heard the story of the Flying Tigers before, and when she delved deeper into this history in China, her inner emotion deepened even more.

Just after the spring equinox, the spring atmosphere in Spring City has become even more vibrant.

In just a few days, the students' schedules were packed: at the Niulian fishing village, they observed the new face of rural revitalization in China up close; at the China Railway Group Kunming Central Station, they witnessed the continuous new development of high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road; and they visited enterprises such as Yunnan Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd. to understand the new trends in Yunnan's overseas investment development...

"These days in Yunnan have enriched and made my understanding of China more three-dimensional," said Patino. Before coming to Yunnan, they had visited and met with departments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, and now they are able to delve into local enterprises, villages, and so on. "All of this together forms a more real China."

David Burman is the accompanying teacher for this youth student delegation. He has lived in China for many years and has also hiked in Yunnan.

Now, having become an associate professor, Burman brought his students to Yunnan once again. While marveling at China's rapid development, he said, "I hope to let the students see more facets of China, and I am fully confident that they have."