Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival kicks off in Fuzhou

The Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival opened in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province on Jun 24.

The event was jointly organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Fujian Provincial People’s Government and All-China Youth Federation.

Kuliang (Guling) is located north of Gushan in the suburbs of Fuzhou. More than 100 years ago, foreigners residing in the city came to the place to escape the summer heat. They built schools, hospitals, postal offices and the Kuliang Club. They lived harmoniously with local villagers, creating the enduring Kuliang story that has been passed down to this day.

In 1901, U.S. citizen Milton Gardner arrived in Fuzhou as an infant with his parents and lived there until their return to the U.S. in 1911. Throughout his life, Gardner yearned to revisit his childhood home but never had the opportunity before his passing.

In the spring of 1992, Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, discovered this poignant tale in an article with the headline of “Ah, Kuliang”. Touched by Gardner’s story, Xi extended an invitation to Milton Gardner’s widow, Elizabeth Gardner, to visit China. This gesture aimed to fulfill Milton Gardner’s longstanding wish. Since then, the Kuliang story has captivated many hearts and become widely known.

President Xi Jinping has emphasized on multiple occasions the importance of youth in the future of Sino-U.S. relations. In November 2023, during his visit to San Francisco, he proposed an initiative to invite 50,000 U.S. youth to China for exchanges and learning over the next five years. Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival is a flagship project by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to implement Xi’s initiative.

The event is themed around “Inheriting the Kuliang Affection, Deepening Friendship,” inviting approximately 500 young people from various sectors in China and the United States to participate in a series of activities. These activities will focus on topics such as Sino-U.S. relations, the diversity and inclusiveness of Chinese culture, climate change and sport events. The aim is to provide a platform for extensive communication, exchange of ideas, and fostering friendship among Chinese and American youth.

During the opening ceremony of the festival, a bilingual website in both Chinese and English was launched. This initiative aims to make the story of Kuliang accessible to the international community, with a particular focus on Chinese and American youth.

On Saturday, the Kuliang Families Story Museum dedicated to preserving the stories of foreign families there was inaugurated.

The exhibition vividly portrays the experiences of eight foreign families, notably including Lydia A. Trimble, the pioneer of women’s higher education in Fujian, A.W. Billing, pioneer of modern agricultural vocational education in Fuzhou, Dr. Mary E. Carleton, founder of the first western hospital in Minqing, and Donald E. Maclnnis, a teacher and member of the Flying Tigers. 

Through texts, photographs, precious exhibits, and immersive scenes, the exhibition narrates the emotional stories of these families’ ties to Kuliang. It also captures the touching journeys of their descendants as they return to Kuliang to reconnect with their roots.