Ancient relics, young voices: Cultural ties bridge China and the US
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Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump, visit the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., the United States, September 24, 2026. /Xinhua
A year after the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. returned two volumes of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts to China, Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited the museum on Thursday accompanied by Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump.
The connection is no coincidence. It comes against the backdrop of growing China-US cooperation on the protection of cultural heritage.
The two volumes of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 at the Zidanku site in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. They were taken to the United States in 1946 amid the wartime turmoil, and remained overseas for nearly eight decades before the museum formally returned them to China in May 2025. The manuscripts, dating to the Warring States period more than 2,000 years ago, are among the earliest known silk texts from China.
During her visit to the museum, Peng expressed appreciation for the return of Chinese cultural relics by the US in recent years. She called for continued efforts to strengthen cooperation in cultural exchanges and cultural heritage protection and to deepen friendship between the two peoples.
In September, one week before President Xi and his wife Peng's visit, the US returned 64 cultural relics, works of art and paleontological fossils to China. The items, repatriated in two batches, include Buddhist sculpture fragments, figurines and dinosaur fossils, which had been seized by US law enforcement agencies. Chinese and US authorities worked together to facilitate their return.
At a handover ceremony for the returned artifacts, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said the latest return was a concrete step of implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability.
After touring the museum, Peng Liyuan and Melania Trump watched a group of American teenagers sing Chinese songs together. Peng encouraged them to continue learning the Chinese language and studying Chinese culture and to serve as envoys of friendship between China and the United States.
For years, President Xi has emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges between China and the US, particularly among young people, noting that the future of China-US relations lies in the youth.
Students from Lincoln High School in Washington State and Beijing National Day School pose for a group photo after a flag football exchange, May 26, 2025. /Xinhua
In November 2023, during his visit to San Francisco, Xi proposed inviting 50,000 young Americans to China over five years for study and exchange programs. The target was reached this year, two and a half years ahead of schedule.
At a welcome ceremony at the White House on Thursday, Xi said 100,000 young Americans will be invited to visit China for exchanges and study over the next five years. He also called for more direct flights between China and the US to facilitate two-way travel and trade.
Currently, China offers a 240-hour visa-free transit policy to travelers from 57 countries, including the United States. This has allowed increasing numbers of American tourists to visit China to experience the country firsthand and gain a more direct understanding of Chinese culture and society.
Such people-to-people exchanges are helping shape how Americans view China. A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey found that favorable views of China among Americans had risen for a third consecutive year, with younger Americans expressing more positive views of China than older generations.
