When the last wooden beam slid into place, the bridge stood firm — without nails, screws or glue.

At Changzhou Beijiao High School in Jiangsu province, a joint project reached its climax as Chinese students and their visiting United States peers stepped onto the Luban Bridge they had built together. Lu Ban was an ancient Chinese master carpenter.

It held. Cheers and applause broke out almost instinctively.

Zhou Jiahao, an English teacher at the school, watched closely. As the students crossed the bridge, he offered a heartfelt wish: "May the bond between China and the US be as solid as this bridge, and may we always be one family."

The response, Zhou recalled later, was incredible and genuine. "It wasn't just polite clapping," he said. "It was a real emotional connection — a shared hope for friendship. Honestly, that moment of unity felt stronger than any speech I could have ever given."

For Zhou, the structure itself carried a deeper meaning. "We don't let our differences hold us back. Instead, we find what we have in common, and learn to accept one another through talking and working together."

"Like the mortise and tenon joints of the Luban Bridge, we support one another," he said. "And by doing so, we make each other stronger."

For the US youth education exchange delegation from Florida that visited China in October, the experience became the most memorable highlight of their weeklong journey.

After returning home, teachers and students from the Diamond Minds Transformational Leadership Academy in Miami, Florida, the University of Florida and Miami-Dade College wrote to President Xi Jinping, reflecting on their pleasant and rewarding journey to China.

In early January, Xi replied to the letter, expressing the hope that more American youths would serve as a new generation of envoys for China-US friendship, contribute to stronger people-to-people exchanges and help advance the development of bilateral relations.

"The first feeling was gratitude," said Milinda Sylvain, principal of the Diamond Minds Transformational Leadership Academy. "Gratitude that our students' reflections were not only received, but acknowledged at such a high level."

"Visiting China allowed our students to learn history and culture, while also seeing education, technology and community life up close in a way a textbook can't provide," Sylvain said. She noted that the school's long-running Asian Studies program, with a strong focus on Chinese language and culture, helped to prepare students for the trip.

Reflecting on the visit to the high school in Changzhou, Sylvain said that she saw "real potential for a long-term relationship", adding that the experience "is what led us to decide to pursue a sister-school partnership moving forward".

Fredline Dorvil, a program director at the academy, described the Luban Bridge project as "a symbolic bridge of friendship and mutual understanding".

"As they assembled each wooden beam, ancient engineering principles came to life," Dorvil said.

"Seeing local students' everyday school life was powerful," she said. "Our students realized that even though we come from different countries, we share so many similarities — friendships, goals and the desire to do well and make our families proud. That made China feel more human and less 'far away'."

Discovering China

Beyond Changzhou, the delegation visited Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, and other cities, touring the Confucius Temple area, the Imperial Examination Museum of China, Hongshan Forest Zoo, universities, and Li Auto's electric vehicle manufacturing base.

Cass, a 24-year-old US student, said curiosity flowed both ways.

"We'd compete to see who could take the most photos with locals each day," the student said, noting how people were fascinated by the group and often asked to take pictures.

"Most of what I knew came from TV dramas," Cass said. "But being there is totally different. I got to experience real culture and history — and also the modern side of China."

Visits to Chinese universities helped reshape her academic plans. "I was about to apply for a master's program in Florida," she said. "But now, it made me start thinking seriously about doing my master's degree there, and I've already started researching programs that could fit me."

For a 13-year-old US student named Lee, the journey was transformative in a more personal way.

"I often worried about the dangers of the outside world and felt nervous about exploring unfamiliar places. But with the encouragement of my teachers and friends, I found the courage to take that step," Lee said. "Looking back now, I'm really proud of myself."

For Yin Yiyang, a student at Changzhou Beijiao High School, hosting the US visitors changed his understanding of what it means to be an "envoy".

"They were really excited and curious about everything on campus, and we covered a wide range of topics, from our school studies to daily life," Yin said, adding that he realized they are each other's "most vivid window" into their countries.

"I used to think being an envoy meant making big speeches," he said. "But now I understand it's about being a genuine person — sharing your life, your interests, your thoughts, and also listening."

The delegation participated in the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative proposed by President Xi in November 2023 to promote youth exchanges between the two countries. So far, more than 40,000 young people from the US have taken part in the program.

At the 2026 China-US Youth Spring Festival Gala on Jan 31 in Washington, DC, Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng said, "Under our leaders' guidance, China-US youth exchanges have gone from strength to strength, steadily injecting fresh vigor into bilateral relations."

Over the past year, tens of thousands of Chinese students have gone to the US for further studies, while more than 20,000 young Americans have visited China, he said.

Calling China-US ties "the most important bilateral relationship in the world", Xie said the relationship requires "careful nurturing" by the peoples of both countries.

"Youth exchanges, like spring plowing, instill the greatest vitality into the process," he said, encouraging more young Americans to participate in the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative.

Lyu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that youth exchanges are crucial to the long-term stability of China-US relations, as they help narrow perception gaps between the two societies.

Through expanded people-to-people exchanges, especially among young people, "young Americans can gain first-hand insights into China's development and trajectory", enabling them to better understand the country beyond prevailing stereotypes and foster affinity between the two peoples, Lyu said.