On April 10, 1971, when American table tennis player Connie Swiris walked into mainland China from Hong Kong, she was both excited and nervous. She took a photo with her camera as she walked, but it was a bit blurry due to her hands shaking when pressing the shutter button. She still treasures this photo to this day. At that time, at the invitation of the Chinese government, a US table tennis delegation consisting of 15 people including Connie visited China. Starting from this historic visit, a small ping pong ball opened the door to the resumption of exchanges between China and the United States, opening a diplomatic tale of "small balls turning big balls". Nowadays, the younger generation is crossing the Pacific to reunite with friends through the sport of table tennis, reliving the journey of breaking the ice and continuing a new chapter of the "table tennis friendship" between the Chinese and American people for over half a century. "I remember we learned about the invitation to visit China, and I was really excited and a bit nervous," Connie recalled in an interview with reporters at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. At the time, 23-year-old Connie participated in the 31st World Table Tennis Championships with the American table tennis delegation in Nagoya, Japan. During this time, American athlete Glenn Cohen mistakenly boarded the Chinese team bus, and Chinese table tennis legend Zhuang Zedong interacted with him in a friendly manner. The unexpected contact between the two sides immediately attracted external attention. Afterwards, Chinese leaders made a decision and China officially invited the US table tennis delegation to visit China. Connie said that the passport she used for her visit to China is still preserved by the National Museum of Foreign Affairs in the United States. In that era, China was listed as one of the countries that could not be visited on the passports of American citizens. Special matters are being handled, and US officials are using black markers to mark out 'China' (from the list of inaccessible countries). The seemingly gentle "stroke" is an important hurdle that the American table tennis delegation must pass on their "ice breaking journey". During the visit of the US table tennis delegation to China, athletes from both sides held an exhibition match. Connie told reporters that the Chinese team is far stronger than the American team, "they could have easily defeated us with just two or three goals.". However, facing 18000 spectators at the Capital Gymnasium, the Chinese team adheres to the spirit of "friendship first, competition second", and has played against the US team back and forth, showcasing their football skills to the fullest. Connie also recalled a detail in particular: Premier Zhou Enlai asked the US table tennis delegation if there were any areas of dissatisfaction, and the US team leader immediately replied, "Yes." Everyone was surprised, only to hear the US team leader continue to say, "You gave us too much delicious food," and everyone laughed. On April 17, 1971, Connie and her delegation ended their visit to China and brought back the sincere friendship of the Chinese people to the United States. In February 1972, then US President Nixon's visit to China officially began the process of normalizing Sino US relations. In April of the same year, the Chinese table tennis delegation was invited to visit the United States and was received by Nixon at the White House. In April 1972, China and the United States
Edit：Yi Jing Responsible editor：Li Nian
Source：XinhuaNet
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