Rowing to the same beat, a world away

Tong quickly found common ground with the visiting peers. They talked about school and exams, academic pressure and what was happening in their lives. "Once you really spend time together, you realize that the distance between us isn't as great as you might have imagined," Tong said. "We're also all very interested in what our cities will become in the future. We can share what we see and discover new possibilities through each other's cities."

The exchange also works in the other direction. This summer, Wu Shuangyang, a student at Zhejiang University visiting Boston University, noticed that reminders of Hangzhou were not hard to find in Boston.

"On the Charles River, you can see all kinds of dragon boat races at certain times of the year," Wu said. "It's a very visible part of Chinese culture."

In classrooms at Boston University, he also heard fellow students discussing technology companies such as DeepSeek and Alibaba, names closely associated with Hangzhou.

Peng Yuxi, another Zhejiang University student, entered a laboratory for the first time during her studies at Boston University.

"US peers are very willing to discuss things with others, share their opinions and inspire one another through constant discussion or come up with new ideas."

Liu Xiaoxue, meanwhile, said one of the most memorable parts of her time in Boston was a professor who made her feel at home and treated her like a friend.