Thirty-six US teenagers begin four-day cultural tour of Shanxi

Thirty-six American teenagers began the four-day 2026 China-US Youth Exchange Shanxi Tour on Monday in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, an initiative designed to build face-to-face communication and heart-to-heart connections between young people of the two countries.

The delegation visited the Affiliated High School of Shanxi University, where Chinese and American students took part in interactive activities and performed a dance together. At a study camp in Jinzhong, they learned traditional tea-brewing techniques under a tea master and painted opera masks.

Song Gefei, a student representative from the Affiliated High School of Shanxi University, said the opportunity was rare and precious. "We firmly believe that no textbook, online video, or social media can ever replace the genuine joy of conversing, sharing experiences, and building memories side by side," she said.

Mackenzie Tran, 17, a student from New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School in New York, said the trip had reshaped her understanding of the country. "I think China is very beautiful. It also has a lot of culture that is very different from my own, which is really amazing," she said.

Nevaeh Sukhlal, a student from Brooklyn Technical High School in New York, shared how she had befriended a Chinese classmate and learned the word laoxiang — a term for the warmth felt when encountering someone from one's own hometown.

Shanxi schools have been interacting with schools in the United States for decades, according to Tian Fengjuan, director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Education's international cooperation and exchange division. In recent years, she said, the two sides have deepened collaboration through flagship programs including immersive intangible cultural heritage experiences and cross-border symphony orchestra tours. She expressed hope that young people from both nations would take culture as a bond, drawing inspiration from Shanxi's bronze civilization and American jazz.

Liao Shenzhan, senior vice-president of education at the China Institute of America, said that a century ago, large numbers of Chinese students traveled to the United States to study, yet few Americans knew anything about China. It was this need for deeper mutual understanding that gave rise to the founding of the institute. It has since brought many American students, teachers, and others to China to experience Chinese culture firsthand and build friendships, she said.

The four-day program will also take the delegation to Datong, where they will visit the Yungang Grottoes and the ancient city wall to experience Shanxi's traditional architectural craftsmanship up close.

Chen Shuo contributed to this story.