by sportswriter Liu Yang
FUZHOU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Standing outside the century-old Kuliang Club, Drew Ruchim picked up a wooden arrow and aimed at a pot. His first throw missed.
"At first I threw it like a baseball," said the University of Michigan graduate. "Then I changed how I released it."
With a small adjustment, Ruchim quickly got the hang of touhu, a traditional Chinese game that dates back more than 2,000 years.
Minutes earlier, he had been rallying on a digital tennis simulator installed beside the historic clubhouse, where tennis was once one of Kuliang's favorite summer pastimes.
For Ruchim and many other young athletes from four visiting American baseball teams, the "Bond with Kuliang: 2026 China-U.S. Youth Baseball Exhibition Games and Sports Festival" offered much more than baseball over the past week.
Between exhibition games against Chinese teams, the visitors explored Kuliang's rich sporting history. They toured the site of the community's old swimming pool, played badminton, practiced basic Chinese martial arts movements and tried their hand at both the tennis simulator and touhu.
For many, it was an unexpected window into a shared history.
DISCOVERING KULIANG'S SPORTING LEGACY
More than a century ago, sports were already part of everyday life in the community of Kuliang, known as Guling in Mandarin, a hill area in the suburbs of Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province. As foreign residents, including many Americans, built summer homes in Kuliang, they brought with them recreational activities such as tennis, swimming, hiking, mountaineering and camping.
Historical photos and reports in The Kuliang Register, a local English-language newspaper, show annual tennis tournaments featuring players of different nationalities. A swimming club established in 1906 and scenic mountain trails made outdoor recreation a defining part of life in the hill community.
"I didn't know that before until I came here," said Cade Thomas, a player from the University of Michigan, after learning that Americans had once lived alongside Chinese residents there. "It's really cool to know the history and to see the bond is still there."
MORE THAN A GAME
The baseball tournament, held in nearby Pingtan, brought together four American teams and four Chinese teams.
For Lu Yun, a player and coach with the Fujian provincial baseball team, the value of the event went well beyond athletic competition.
"Baseball provided a natural platform for communication, allowing friendships to grow alongside competition," said Lu.
The games were closely fought. In one match, Fujian defeated Northeastern State University RiverHawks 15-13, but few participants seemed focused on the final scores.
"Our students have a whole new perspective on China after just a few days," said John Allen Sisemore, athletic director at Northeastern State University.
Most of his players had never visited China before, he said, and the experience had challenged many of their preconceptions. "Sports give us the opportunity to know each other. They may not remember the score years from now, but they'll remember this experience for the rest of their lives," said Sisemore.
The exchange extended beyond baseball. The American players also watched Fujian's youth badminton team training before picking up rackets to join them. Many were surprised by the quality of China's young shuttlers and admired China's achievements in badminton.
"They're unbelievable," said Robert Max Dombrowski, baseball coach at Cornell College in Iowa, after watching the session. "One of those kids is going to be an Olympian."
The visitors also watched demonstrations by Fujian Wushu athletes before trying several basic movements under the instructors' guidance. Some struggled to coordinate stances, while others quickly drew applause from teammates after mastering a punch or kick.
Dombrowski said his players had been impressed not only by the athletes they met but also by what they had seen in China.
"They've developed a real respect for China," he said, adding that he hopes Chinese students will also have opportunities to study and play baseball at Cornell College.
CARRYING THE KULIANG STORY FORWARD
For many of the American visitors, the trip also introduced them to the story that has made Kuliang a lasting symbol of friendship between China and the United States.
One of the best-known stories began in 1992, when Xi Jinping, then Fuzhou's Party chief, helped Elizabeth Gardner fulfill the lifelong wish of her late husband, Milton Gardner, to return to Kuliang, where he had spent part of his childhood in the early 1900s.
During her visit, Elizabeth reunited with several of her husband's childhood friends, an experience that deepened the ties between the Gardner family and Kuliang. Over the years, the story has come to represent the enduring friendship forged between the peoples of China and the United States.
That legacy has continued through the "Friends of Kuliang," a group made up largely of descendants of American families with historical ties to the mountain, as well as through expanding youth exchange programs.
In 2023, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the "Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship Forum" held in Fuzhou, encouraging efforts by the "Friends of Kuliang" to deepen mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
Later that year, President Xi announced a program to invite 50,000 American youths to China in the next five years for exchanges and study.
"Lots of students from my university have benefited from the initiative," said Sisemore, "they experienced Chinese culture firsthand and took it back to the other students."
Ann Gunhus-Hanaley, team leader of Northeastern State University RiverHawks, has brought students to China for exchanges three times.
"When they all went back, they couldn't stop talking about how much they loved their time in China. Some graduates want to come to work for the university so they can come to China again," said Gunhus-Hanaley.
The goal of the "50,000 in five years" initiative has been achieved two and a half years ahead of schedule.
"It happened very quickly. A lot of activities like Bond with Kuliang helped the number get into place faster. There's no better way than to start these exchanges among the young people, and sports is universal language, and it brings us together," said Sisemore.
"It shows that American young people are excited about opportunities to go to China and meet the people here," said Dombrowski.
Hadi Houalla, a Yale University student representing Virginia's Near West baseball club, said the trip had reinforced his belief that sport could bridge differences between peoples.
"In baseball, no matter where you come from, everyone has a chance to bat, to run and to win," he said. "We'll remember the faces, the handshakes, the laughter, the meals we shared and the friendships we made on the field." ■
