Breathless and flecked with sweat, students from China and the United States focused intently on the court. Yellow pickleballs shuttled between them, creating an invisible bond.

From April 10 to 20, 44 teachers and students from 13 schools in Maryland of the US visited Chinese cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Beijing. Through engaging in pickleball matches, they learned about Chinese culture and became friends with their Chinese peers.

"It's been an eye-opening experience," said Ian Skott Harper from Poolesville High School, noting that through this trip he realized that however different Chinese and American cultures are, people and the things they do can be similar.

"It has truly brought a lot of us closer together," he said.

Combining elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball originated in the United States and has become popular across China in recent years.

On April 17, a friendly match was hosted at the Xibahe campus of Beijing Academy, where Sheraz Bashir from the Churchill High School was paired with a Chinese student.

At first they were affected by the wind, and the Chinese student missed a ball.

However, Sheraz soon went to comfort him, saying, "It's fine, we can use the wind as well to adjust our strategy." As the match progressed, their teamwork improved and they ultimately emerged victorious.

Although they lost the game by one point, 15-year-old Wang Jingtong high-fived his partner, 17-year-old Siddhant Jog from the Clarksburg High School.

"I had no idea what pickleball was a month ago," said Jingtong. "But now, here I am, standing on the court, playing with my American partner and encouraging each other. Really nice experience."

Siddhant said: "We lost the game, but we were sticking together. We just couldn't end up winning. But it was fine. It was very fun and this is more important, right?"

After each match, Ryan James Corkery from the Sherwood High School would ask his partner to sign on the racket. Now, his two rackets are full of signatures. He told Xinhua News Agency that he was going to display the rackets in his room back in the US, which were the best souvenirs he has got.

In Shanghai, the American delegation visited the International Table Tennis Federation Museum and China Table Tennis Museum, where they found, among 8,000 plus items, the world's first table tennis racket, table and ball.

The scoring rules and rackets of table tennis are similar to those of pickleball and this sport is popular in China just like pickleball is in the United States, said Haley Grace from the Sherwood High School. For the first time she learned that table tennis once brought China and the United States closer.

In April 1971, nine players from the US 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 China and the United States.

"Sports create a very unique opportunity," said Jeffrey Keith Sullivan, head of the delegation. "We can compete hard against someone. We can also, at the end of that competition, shake hands."

China announced an initiative in 2023 to invite 50,000 young Americans to the country for exchange and study programs over a five-year period. As of January, the initiative has brought more than 15,000 young Americans to visit China.

Sullivan was impressed by the hospitality of the Chinese. "We have been welcomed with open arms," he said, seeing that American students didn't want to leave, exchanging WeChat with their Chinese peers.

"If each individual person makes a commitment to build friendship, to step out of their own shoes and into someone else's shoes, and to embrace their culture... that's gonna build a better world," said Sullivan.

Xinhua