Against the backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms in early spring, the seeds of friendship between a group of Chinese and American students are also flourishing beautifully.

Atop the rolling peaks of the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing, students from Iowa, the United States, and their peers from a school in Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei province, climbed a nearly 70-degree staircase, overcoming the challenging yet enticing stretch together.

"It's super hard, but we're almost halfway there. We've got this!" said Kenya Lopez, pausing to snap selfies with her friends as she climbed.

Lopez is part of a group of 102 high school students and teachers from five Iowa schools who embarked on a weeklong Inheritance of Friendship Study Program in China from March 16 to 22.

The delegation, led by Dan Stein and Tony Joseph, chairman and vice chairman of the Muscatine-China Initiatives Committee, and Krista Lee Regennitter, program director from the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, visited Beijing, Shijiazhuang, and Shanghai, immersing themselves in Chinese culture, history, and people-to-people exchanges.

"The trip highlighted how grassroots youth interactions continue to nurture the enduring people-to-people friendship between China and the US," said Pei Hongxia, principal of Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School (SFLS), which hosted the journey.

According to Pei, each American student was paired with a Chinese student from the school, all of whom are fluent in English, to help them better understand the places and culture during the tour.