In September, China proposed a plan to invite 100,000 American youth to visit China over the next five years. As part of the effort, the 2026 China-US Elite University Student Pickleball Friendship Tournament, hosted by the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange under the Ministry of Education, was held at Peking University recently.

Students said they came to experience China, make friends and learn about the country in person, and found that pickleball serves as a bridge between the two cultures.

Zhang Xinyi contributed to the story.