Students from Beijing No 2 Middle School and their peers from the United States ride bicycles on Tuesday along Beijing's Central Axis, a highlight of the city's well-preserved history. WANG YUJIE/CHINA DAILY

Connor Mackriell, a high school student from Tacoma in the US state of Washington, started his first visit to China this week, together with about 190 students and teachers from a total of 14 high schools in seven US states.

The trip, which will take them to Hebei, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces as well as Shanghai in the course of about two weeks, is part of an initiative, announced by President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November, to invite 50,000 young people from the United States to visit China over the next five years.

In a message read to the "Shared Journey of Friendship" US Youth Exchange Delegation at a welcoming ceremony on Monday, Xi extended his welcome to them and reiterated the important role of people-to-people exchanges in China-US relations.

"As I always say, the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in grassroots connections, its future depends on you and its vitality comes from subnational exchanges," Xi said in the message.

"I hope that through this visit, you will perceive, experience, and have a better understanding of China, communicate and interact with the young people of China to become good partners and good friends, help build more bridges of mutual understanding between the two peoples, and contribute to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples," he said.

Mackriell, the 15-year-old Tacoma student, said, "After hearing the message from the Chinese president, it makes me hopeful for the future that we as youth have power in our hands to bring two great nations together in hopes of a better world."

He said he expects the trip to be life-changing. "And I hope that it will be able to open my eyes more to the similarities and differences in cultures, and what can be done to bring us together," he said.

Todd Bowen, director of world languages at Niles Township High School District 219 in the US state of Illinois, said that for the 47 students from his district, the trip to China is a dream that has finally been realized, as the students were unable to visit in 2020 as planned.

He said he agreed with what Xi said in his message about the importance of creating friendships. "It's not just working together. It's learning to understand each other better through friendship. That makes a difference."

Bowen said he still remembers how excited the students were when they received a reply letter from Xi in 2019, in which the president answered the various questions they had asked him about his work, life and hobbies.

"We presented each of the students with a copy of the letter," he said.

Lynn Eisenhauer, who taught students to sing the Chinese song In the Field of Hope during Xi's trip to Lincoln High School in Tacoma in 2015, said she completely believes in what Xi said in the message.

"Throughout the past 10 years, I've been given the unique opportunity to help introduce many high school students to the wonders of Chinese culture and the warmth of the Chinese people," she said, noting that this is the fifth time she has brought students to China. She added that she has watched their lives change.

"When we come together to share a song, tell the story, share a meal, create artwork or play games, we remember that there is much we have in common. Joy is a universal feeling. We are capable of sharing and spreading joy wherever we go," Eisenhauer said.

April Norton, who is from Muscatine in the US state of Iowa, said that when she was preparing for this trip, she started hearing more about the special connection between President Xi and the small Iowa city in the hinterland of the US.

In 1985, Xi, then secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhengding county committee in Hebei, stayed with a local family for two days while leading a five-person delegation to Muscatine. Xi, who was impressed with the hospitality of local residents, visited again in 2012 when he was vice-president.

Norton said she didn't hesitate when she learned about the opportunity to visit China, a country that none of her family members had ever been to. "It could be a once-in-a-life experience," she said, adding that she was most excited about the trip to the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Bowen, from Illinois, said that Xi's initiative inviting 50,000 young people from the US to visit China is like throwing a rock into a pond and watching the ripples continue to grow. "Every time someone has an opportunity, of course they tell other people and they talk about that opportunity. And that's what changes through those waves," he said.