In the summer of 2026, seven teachers and students from the Affiliated High School Of Fuzhou Institute Of Education once again set off for Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, to attend a summer camp. The same journey. The same campus. The same warm welcome. The exchange between the two schools has continued uninterrupted, as young people cross the Pacific year after year, keeping one promise after another to meet again.

Rewind one year to July 2025. Twenty-two students from the Affiliated High School Of Fuzhou Institute Of Education crossed the Pacific to spend an unforgettable summer at Lincoln High School alongside their American peers. Looking back today, the laughter, songs, and shared memories still shine brightly in the hearts of students on both sides of the Pacific.

Tacoma, July 2025

That summer, the classrooms at Lincoln High School welcomed a group of young visitors from Fuzhou. The students joined American classrooms, discussing projects and learning side by side with their classmates. In the afternoons, the playground came alive with badminton, frisbee, and table tennis. Students from both schools mixed into teams, where no one cared about the score—laughter was the only thing that truly counted.

Recalling the very first day on campus, one student from Fuzhou said, "I was a little nervous at first, but my American classmate greeted me with a 'Ni hao,' and I immediately relaxed." Meanwhile, Lincoln students carefully learned to write their new friends' Chinese names, one stroke at a time. Through those earnest efforts, two cultures quietly came together.

During the camp, students attended classes together, took part in outdoor team-building activities, and spent their free time sharing stories about their hometowns and school life, singing songs, and playing games. Though they grew up on opposite sides of the Pacific, they shared the same youthful spirit.

Two Reunions in One Summer

In fact, the summer camp was not the first time the two schools met during the summer of 2025.

Just two weeks before the camp began, the Lincoln High School Choir had wrapped up its visit to Fuzhou for the "Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-US Youth Choir Festival". On the campus of the Affiliated High School Of Fuzhou Institute Of Education, American and Chinese students performed together, moving audiences with their rendition of On the Field of Hope.

From Fuzhou to Tacoma, from the concert stage to the summer camp playground, the setting changed, but the friendship remained the same. The students who had stood shoulder to shoulder in song met again at camp. This time, instead of saying a hurried goodbye after a performance, they lived together at camp, shared meals, and celebrated every goal together with high-fives and cheers.

A Decade of Friendship, A New Chapter in 2025

In 2015, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visited Lincoln High School, where students from China and the United States performed On the Field of Hope together. In 2016, the two schools officially became sister schools. Over the past decade, they have made 13 exchange visits, exchanged more than 150 letters, and involved over 1,000 teachers and students in their exchanges.

The 2025 summer camp marked the latest chapter in this decade-long friendship.

"Before, we felt like guests. That time, we felt more like family," recalled a teacher from Fuzhou who has participated in multiple exchange programs. "The students no longer needed translation to communicate. A glance or a gesture was enough for them to understand each other."

On the final day of camp, students exchanged carefully prepared gifts, performed songs together, and said farewell with reluctant smiles. Many made the same promise:

"Next time you come to Fuzhou, I'll treat you to Fuzhou fish balls!"

Once a Bridge Is Built, It Never Disappears

The summer camp came to an end, but the story of these young people did not. Their WeChat contact lists grew longer with new English names, while their phone galleries filled with photos of shared laughter and unforgettable moments. They continued chatting on social media, sharing pieces of everyday life in a lively mix of Chinese and English.

From 2015 to 2025, every journey across the Pacific has brought the students a little closer together. The summer of 2025 was simply the newest and brightest chapter in a friendship that has continued to grow for a decade. And once a bridge is built, it never disappears—because there will always be people willing to cross it.

The Pacific remains vast. But for these young people, it is no longer a barrier. Instead, it has become a shared stretch of blue, carrying them toward one another and toward many more reunions in the years to come.