Peng Liyuan (7th R, Front), wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump (6th L, Front) pose with students during their visit to the Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, April 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
WEST PALM BEACH, the United States, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Carina Wang, an eighth grader at Bak Middle School of the Arts in the city of West Palm Beach in the U.S. state of Florida, told Xinhua that she wants to help bring the United States and China closer when she grows up.
While Wang was born in the United States to parents from China, that idea not only stemmed from her heritage, but was inspired by a special person -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On April 7, 2017, Peng paid a visit to Wang's school at the invitation of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, where they watched students perform and talked with them, initiating efforts to build a bridge of people-to-people exchanges between China and the school.
Bak's School Board Chair Francine Manthy and Executive Director Susy Diaz wrote Peng a letter recently to mark the second anniversary of her visit and again express their appreciation to the Chinese first lady.
Peng's artistic direction to the students during the visit has become an extraordinary and memorable moment for the whole school, they said.
To their delight, Peng quickly replied. Her letter was delivered to the school by Li Qiangmin, Chinese consul general in Houston, in April.
In the letter, Peng said that both China and the United States have a splendid culture, and it is a common wish to strengthen bilateral exchanges, especially among young people.
She also encouraged the teachers and students at the school to commit themselves to China-U.S. cooperation and make greater contributions to the friendship between the two peoples through the bridge of education and the arts.
Peng's letter elicited an enthusiastic response from the school. Manthy said that it would encourage the teachers and students to further pursue excellence in the arts, expand their global horizons and carry out more cooperation with China.
Recalling Peng's visit two years ago, Sally Rozanski, Bak's principal, called it a highlight of her three-decade-plus education career and an ongoing hot topic on campus.
Rozanski said the school was greatly honored to receive Peng's letter, adding that the exchange of letters shows that the school and Peng are on each other's minds.
Diaz said they wrote the letter to Peng "thanking her again and letting her know that she's still thought of very fondly here at Bak by our students and by those that were able to be a part of that experience."
They also wanted to thank Peng for "what she continues to do for arts and arts education," she added.
Established in 1989, Bak features arts education and many of its students have developed an interest in China after Peng's visit.
That had prompted Bak's teachers to guide them to create art works based on Chinese folk tales, with some pieces on view in the corridors of the teaching building.
The Beijing Inner Voice Art Troupe, which comprises Chinese artists with physical disabilities, paid a visit to the school last year and impressed the faculty and students with their astonishing performance and firm spirit.
Samantha White, another eighth grader, said she appreciated the Chinese art troupe's performance "immensely," which included a widely-known Chinese group dance the Thousand-hand Bodhisattva, performed by a group of dancers with hearing impairments.
Wang said these people-to-people exchange events enabled her and other students to appreciate the charm of Chinese arts and communicate with Chinese dancers through art as a language.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am very grateful to be part of," she said.
Stressing that this year also marks the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and the United States, Li told Xinhua that Peng's letter to Bak is significant, and shows that she attaches great importance to bilateral ties, as well as the friendly cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
"People-to-people exchanges, especially those between the young generations, are vital for China and the United States to develop their relations. Peng's letter is an encouragement for them to strengthen communication and deepen mutual understanding," Li said.
Kate Wagner, Wang, and White are members of Bak's student TV station, who covered the delivery of Peng's letter to their school.
Wagner said Peng's visit in 2017 was "the beginning of a blossoming relationship" between Bak and China, which has created "so many possibilities."
Feeling inspired, Wagner said she hopes to be a reporter in the future, so that she can "report on an international level and be able to go to places like China."
