Chinese players attend event marking 53 years of Ping Pong Diplomacy

Hundreds of Chinese and Americans, including Chinese table tennis icons Ma Long and Liu Shiwen, gathered in Los Angeles County's Pacific Palms Resort on Sunday to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of China-U.S. "Ping-Pong Diplomacy."

In April 1971, nine players from the U.S. Table Tennis team took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades.

Their trip was the beginning of what became known as "Ping-Pong Diplomacy," and helped lay the groundwork for the establishment of official diplomatic relations between the Peoples' Republic of China and the United States. The legacy also led to improved people-to-people understanding and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

At the celebration event, Ma Long, who has claimed six Olympic gold medals, and fellow Olympic champion Liu Shiwen played friendly matches with Connie and Dell Sweeris, who were both members of the U.S. table tennis team in 1971, as well as young players of the current U.S. table tennis team.

Ma expressed his admiration for the older generation of U.S. players for their enduring passion and love for table tennis.

"You can feel that after all these years, they still have such a deep affection for table tennis. Their love for the sport is still there, and when they were younger, they knew every player on the Chinese team as if they were a family. So I think this friendship has always been maintained," Ma said.

Liu described playing matches with both the older and younger generations of U.S. table tennis players as a truly unique experience.

"It feels quite surreal. I can imagine the scene of them fighting hard on the court in the past. And when we were playing against each other, I felt it was a manifestation and continuation of the spirit of table tennis," she said.

This year's celebration event was attended by representatives from the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chinese Table Tennis Association. Gene Sykes, Chair of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Board of Directors, along with other senior representatives from the International Table Tennis Federation and USA Table Tennis, also attended the event.

Chinese players attend event marking 53 years of Ping Pong Diplomacy

As a recent heavy snowfall affected greenhouse facilities in central China's Henan Province, farmers in Shangqiu City turned to plant-protection drones, using the powerful downdraft generated by these aircraft to clear snow from greenhouse roofs. This innovative approach allowed the farmers to deal with accumulated snow quickly and efficiently, reducing labor-intensive manual clearing.

To balance between a maximum efficiency and avoiding damaging the facilities, local drone operators figured out their secret manual.

"The key lies in precise control of the altitude and angle. Flying too close risks damaging the greenhouse covering, while flying afar weakens the airflow. Through repeated practice, we found that directing airflow just above the side ridge of the greenhouse produces the best result, allowing wind to push snow smoothly down the roof surface," said drone operator Zhang Qing.

The method works best when snow has not yet compacted and is around 10 centimeters thick, and is particularly effective for large clusters of modern greenhouses with solid structures.

"The approach offers obvious advantages -- speed and cleanliness. Drones are used first to remove most of the loose snow, while workers then move in to handle corners, thicker accumulations, or weaker greenhouses vulnerable to external shocks, using support poles from inside," said Zhang Xinzhi, a senior agronomist with the Liangyuan District Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Shangqiu.

With snowfall continuing, experts noted that snow removal is only a part of safeguarding agricultural production. Measures to maintain warmth and prevent diseases are equally important.

"Amid current heavy snowfall and temperature drops, we must first inspect greenhouse foundations and supporting pipes, reinforcing them promptly when issues are identified, and adopt multiple warming measures to keep temperatures warm and ensure healthy growth of vegetables," said Zhang.

Farmers in Henan use drones to protect greenhouse against heavy snowfall