The April 2013 delegation of Hopkinton visitors on an education tour from Massachusetts included 27 students and three teachers, who spent two full days visiting Pan Jiling’s home school, Ping Xiang High School, in Shanghai. The Hopkinton students were warmly welcomed by the Ping Xiang students at a welcome party, and continued to connect with one another during a gathering party where Ping Xiang students helped Hopkinton students practice their calligraphy. At a final farewell event, the two groups of students joined together on stage for one last song and dance. Ms. Pan’s Chinese students created a DVD to commemorate their time with the Hopkinton delegation, and all of the students and teachers who were involved agreed that the visit had exceeded their expectations.
Both schools plan to work toward developing a long-term sister school relationship in the future, and this was just the first step. As Ms. Pan reported “the brief visit added new vigor and vitality to our school and helped lay the solid foundation for our future exchange.”