U.S. student-athletes from Montgomery County Public Schools on Saturday premiered a documentary in Washington, D.C. about their cultural exchange trip to China, a 12-day tour to three Chinese cities in April.
From April 10 to 20, 44 teachers and students from 13 schools in Maryland, including 30 pickleball players from Montgomery County Public Schools, visited Chinese cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, under the Chinese initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.
Through engaging in pickleball matches with local students, they learned about Chinese culture and became friends with their Chinese peers, filming their experience along the way.
The 30-minute documentary will be made available to the public on the school's YouTube Channel.
They described their journey as "Pickleball Diplomacy," a twist on the Ping-Pong Diplomacy of the 1970s, when sports helped build bridges between China and the U.S.
"You have embodied what we would have hoped in terms of your ambassador role, and you have left giant footsteps for those to follow after you," Thomas Taylor, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, said at the premiere event.
After returning home, the school sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping. To their surprise, he responded.
"President Xi Jinping extended his congratulation on your successful visit to China, saying he is glad to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States," said Li Chuanming, president of the Chinese Alumni Association of Greater Washington.
In the reply letter, Xi also encouraged the students to become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries.
"We were so touched and so honored that President Xi would take the time to recognize the effort and to see the value and the impact of what we were trying to do. We are so grateful, and we wish to share our thanks to President Xi for laying the groundwork for wonderful exchanges like this to take place," Taylor said.
"It was such a kind and giving and caring place. And we all really hope that is the message that people take from that," said Corinne Howard, a pickleball player from the school.
U.S. student-athletes debut documentary about their visit to China
