Jiangsu University marks 10 years of U.S.-China youth exchange with Utah dance troupe

Jiangsu University hosted the Utah Youth Dance Troupe for its fifth visit since 2017, closing a nine-day 2026 exchange that moved through six Chinese cities and ended in Salt Lake City on June 17. The program shows how a university-led cultural partnership can survive COVID-19 and keep U.S.-China youth ties active.

Why it matters: - The exchange shows how a university-led program can keep U.S.-China youth contact alive through political tension and a global pandemic. - Jiangsu University used dance, forums and site visits to deepen people-to-people ties beyond one-time performances. - The program also shows how grassroots exchanges can support higher-education goals without relying on formal diplomacy.

What happened: - Jiangsu University hosted the Utah Youth Dance Troupe, from ASA Legacy Dance Studio in Utah, for the fifth time since 2017. - The 2026 "River and Dance" U.S.-China youth exchange ran for nine days and ended on June 17 in Salt Lake City. - The troupe traveled through Shanghai, Suzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Huai'an and Beijing. - Jiangsu University first invited the troupe in 2017 through its International Office and Youth League Committee. - The troupe visited China in 2017, 2018 and 2019, paused during COVID-19, returned in 2025 and came again in 2026.

The details: - Performances took place at Jiangsu University, Soochow University, Nanjing University, Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Foreign Language College, Jinhu County in Huai'an and Beijing's Daoxianghu School. - American and Chinese students shared the stage in musical theater, folk dance, modern dance, ballroom, jazz, Latin, hip-hop and acrobatic tumbling. - A forum at Jiangsu University brought together 32 American students and parents with Chinese scholars and students to discuss cultural identity and people-to-people friendship. - The group visited the Pearl S. Buck Memorial Hall and learned about Pearl S. Buck's role in bridging East and West through writing. - The group also visited the former site of the Suzhou Branch of the Chinese Communist Party, where Prof. Danny Dong gave a 20-minute lecture. - Danny Dong is affiliated with Jiangsu University and leads the Sino-American Culture & Performance Exchange Association, U.S.A. - The students in that visit ranged from elementary school to college age and listened in silence. - In Jinhu County, the troupe performed at a local arts center for Chinese middle school students in a program sponsored by the Jiangsu Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. - The troupe's program director encouraged the students to clap and cheer, and the audience shifted from hesitation to active applause. - The director later told the students to applaud themselves for showing up and being there. - One parent in the group recognized the same brand of sewing machine that existed in her home while visiting the Pearl S. Buck Memorial Hall. - That parent later showed family records linking her father's side to a seventh-generation descent from Pearl S. Buck and her mother's side to a sixth-generation descent from Edgar Snow. - A young American dancer told Jiangsu Television International, "Wherever we went, we didn't speak the language. But smiles and gestures showed us that there is an unbreakable friendship between Chinese and American youth."

Between the lines: - The exchange grew from a simple performance visit into a broader program that now includes dialogue, history and rural outreach. - Jiangsu University's focus on agricultural machinery and engineering makes the program a notable extension of its core academic mission. - The relationship appears to have endured because participants kept contact active during the pandemic, rather than because of a single formal commitment. - The visit to Jinhu County suggests the program is also trying to reach students outside major urban universities. - The links to Pearl S. Buck and Edgar Snow gave the trip an added historical layer for some participants.

What's next: - The program appears positioned to continue if both sides keep up the same low-key, repeat-visit model. - Jiangsu University's experience may serve as a template for other universities looking to build durable international partnerships through student exchange and performance. - The exchange aligns with China's "50,000 American youth in five years" initiative, suggesting room for broader youth participation.

The bottom line: - Jiangsu University's decade-long Utah dance exchange shows that sustained cultural contact can survive disruptions and still produce lasting people-to-people ties.