Across America

Confirmation hearing - Washington

Terry Branstad (center), US President Donald Trump's nominee for US ambassador to China, arrives for his confi rmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. At left is Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the committee, and at right, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, ranking committee member. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Book talk - Washington

From left: Michael Pillsbury, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; Amitai Etzioni, professor of international relations at George Washington University; and Charles Freeman Jr, a former US diplomat, take part in a seminar on Etzioni's new book Avoiding War with China: Two Nations One World on Monday in Washington. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Looking offshore - Houston

Zhao Zhenge (right), general representative of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, speaks with Tim Gonzales of the American Petroleum Institute at the Off shore Technology Conference in Houston on Tuesday. May Zhou / China Daily

Smooth moves - Washington

Nick Gracenin (left), a noted Chinese martial arts master, leads his students at DC Tai Chi in a performance at the sixth Washington Taiji Festival in Potomac, Maryland on April 29. The annual event, sponsored by the Tai Chi Friends Club of Greater Washington, attracts hundreds of tai chi lovers across the area. James Mu / For China Daily

Safety first - San Francisco

Luo Linquan (center), Chinese consul general in San Francisco, takes a group picture with student-contestant representatives from 14 schools in the Bay Area at the 1st North America's Study Abroad Safety Knowledge Contest hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco on April 30. Cen Zhizhi / China Daily

Grand opening - Bowling Green, KY

A Chinese culture fan from the Kentucky Fine Art Gallery and Western Kentucky University learn calligraphy from Liu Shuling, a contemporary Chinese fi ne brushwork artist, who gave a lecture at the Confucius Institute at the campus on Wednesday. The event is one of many activities leading up to the opening of the Model Confucius Institute Building on Friday. The $2.3 million facility will become the Chinese-language center of the Confucius Institute. Zhao Huanxin / China Daily

Folk tunes - New York

Award-winning musician Zhen Chen (left) and erhu performer Feifei Yang perform at a concert on Sunday at the Greenwich Music House. Chen just released his new album ERGO, featuring 10 pieces composed for piano and Chinese folk instruments. Provided To China Daily

Startup starters - Chicago

A delegation of Chinese company executives pose for a group photo with US business representatives after a tour of 1871, a tech-startup incubator in Chicago. Known as Chicago's center for technology and entrepreneurship, 1871 hosts 500 startups and 1,000 members. Chinese company executives explore opportunities to exchange and cooperate with US tech incubators to help fuel domestic startup development. Zhang Yu'an / China Daily

(China Daily USA 05/05/2017 page13)