On October 8, organized by the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (GDPAFFC), a reception was held to welcome a delegation of American youth in Guangzhou, Guangdong.
Members from the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) experienced shrimp dumpling making and tried out local delicacies at the reception. Each of them later received a panda backpack from the GDPAFFC to commemorate their visit to China.
The iconic panda backpack was designed and manufactured by a Guangzhou-based company, and the main element of the panda, which is adored among international students, was supposed to represent peace and friendship.
Young teens and teachers from YPC expressed their adoration for the bags. "I'm really excited. My backpack at home broke, so this is perfect. I love pandas so much," said YPC member Betty Ince. "We've been getting a lot of panda-related things." Betty shared how she fell in love with the panda elements she saw during the trip.
Taylor Smith, Pianist at the Young People's Chorus of New York City, described the gift as something unexpected and beautiful. "Ever since we found out we were coming to China, we were really excited to be able to go to the zoo and see the pandas," he told GDToday. "We're really looking forward to that on Thursday. We were not expecting to see these bags come to us so early on this Tuesday."
On behalf of YPC, Francisco Núñez, founder of the organization, gave a necktie, some tea and a ceramic cup from New York in return as a gesture of friendship.
"So Brooks Brothers is very important in New York City, and we wanted to give a beautiful tie to represent New York and Brooks Brothers, and also a book of iconic pictures of New York City," he explained. "We gave some New York tea. Now I know China has the best tea, and we gave a little cup, a ceramic cup that says 'I Love New York.'"
He hopes that Chinese friends will remember them every morning when having tea with this cup.
In the following days, the YPC delegation will perform at the 2024 Global Bay Areas Chorus Bridge Guangzhou Concert, together with the Guangdong Experimental High School Choir, and will be heading to Zhuhai on October 11, 2024.
Reporter: Lydia
Video Script & Text: Jersey
Cameraman: Pan Jiajun
Video editor: Ou Nanying
Editor: Steven, Will, James
