History still echoes, and exchanges today run even deeper. In 1994, Zhengzhou established a sister-city relationship with Richmond, capital of the US state of Virginia. For more than three decades, the two cities have upheld equality and mutual benefit, deepening exchanges in culture, education and the economy. In March 2024, a Zhengzhou delegation traveled to Richmond for a cultural tourism promotion event. Patricia, vice chair of the Richmond Sister Cities Association, remarked: "Our two cities have carried out highly effective exchanges in culture, education, the economy and beyond. Zhengzhou's urban development is deeply impressive."

历史的回响未远，现实的交往更密。1994年，郑州与美国弗吉尼亚州首府里士满正式缔结友好城市，30余年来两地始终秉持平等互利的理念，推动文化、教育、经济等领域交流持续走深走实。2024年3月，郑州代表团赴里士满举办文旅推介会。里士满友好城市协会副主席帕特丽夏由衷评价：“两市在文化、教育、经济等多个领域都开展了卓有成效的交流，郑州城市发展让人印象深刻。”

Sister Cities Bridge the Distance: Youth and Warmth Grow in the Central Plains

友城牵线 青春暖意沿黄土地生长

Youth exchange has always been the warmest strand of this sister-city relationship. In June 2025, a delegation of young teachers and students from Richmond arrived in Zhengzhou for a study tour during the height of summer. Before leaving, many of the American participants said with a smile that once home, they would share every wonderful experience here with their friends, exactly as it happened. And so the seeds of friendship quietly took root in young hearts.

青少年交流始终是这条友城交往之路上最温暖的组成部分。2025年6月，美国里士满市青年师生代表团踩着盛夏蝉鸣来到郑州研学。临走前不少美国团员笑着说，回到家乡后，要把这里的美好经历原原本本分享给身边的好友。友谊的种子就这样悄悄在年轻的心灵里生了根、发了芽。

A handshake may open a friendship, yet only shared work can deepen it. In June 2026, the 2026 HEARTLAND CONNECT & U.S.–CHINA AGRICULTURE ROUNDTABLE convened in Zhengzhou. Representatives from both sides held in-depth consultations on such issues as agricultural technology upgrades, food industry coordination and public health services, all tied directly to ordinary people's lives. They reached a number of practical agreements ready to implement, and through this everyday work of mutual benefit, the friendship between Zhengzhou and the United States grows deeper.

真正的友谊从来不止于握手的温度，更藏在并肩实干的深度里。2026年6月，中美地方合作对话会在郑州顺利举行，双方代表围绕农业技术升级、食品产业协同、公共健康服务这些和普通人生活息息相关的议题深入磋商，最终敲定多项可落地的务实合作协议，郑州与美国的友谊，就在这份互利共赢的烟火日常里不断走深走实。

Ordinary Voices: Reaching Across the Distance, Sharing One Horizon

凡人搭桥 大河相望赴同一片浪潮

Ordinary people make the most moving connections, often without knowing it. Gary Lee Todd, born in Illinois in 1949, came to teach at Sias University in Zhengzhou in 2005. For more than two decades, he has traveled across China's mountains and rivers with a camera, built a personal website, and uploaded 170,000 documentary photographs, showing the world the most vivid slices of daily life in China. Prominent American scholar Kevin Morrison made the same choice. At Henan University, he has introduced Chinese students to Victorian literature, turning each page into a quiet act of cultural exchange.

最动人的民间联结，永远藏在普通人的选择里。1949年生于美国伊利诺伊州的盖瑞·李·陶德，2005年来到郑州西亚斯学院任教，20多年来扛着相机跑遍中国的山山水水，创办个人网站上传17万张纪实照片，把最鲜活的中国日常展示给全世界网友。美国知名学者凯文·莫里森同样选择把书桌搬到了河南，在河南大学的讲桌前，带着中国学生深耕维多利亚文学研究，在书页间搭起文化互鉴的稳固小桥。

Young people's online presence has become a new bond between peoples. In March 2025, the American social media influencer IShowSpeed made his way to Shaolin Temple to learn Kung Fu under the temple's masters. A livestream clip of him practicing the Shaolin staff and grimacing in pain went viral. His master, Liang Xiaolong, patted him on the shoulder and said, "This is hard, but this is life." The words spread through the livestream into the social media feeds of young people worldwide, and the wisdom of Shaolin Kung Fu reached countless hearts overseas through the screen.

互联网时代的年轻流量，也成了民间友谊的全新纽带。2025年3月，拥有数千万海外粉丝的美国网红“甲亢哥”扎进少林寺拜师学艺，直播镜头前他练习少林棍时被敲出“痛苦面具”的片段火遍全网，师父梁小龙拍着他肩膀说出的那句“这是艰难的，但这就是人生”，顺着直播信号传遍全球年轻人的社交圈，让少林功夫里的人生智慧，顺着网线钻进了无数海外网友的心里。

Zhengzhou's friendship stories span wartime rescues that saved lives, three decades of sister-city exchange, practical agreements reached at cooperation dialogues, and moments of shared delight caught on camera. Rooted in the soil of central China, these stories will continue for years to come.

从烽火岁月里的生死营救，到友城三十余载的双向奔赴，从合作对话会上的务实对接，到镜头前的趣味共鸣，一件件扎根中原大地的鲜活民间故事还将持续书写着美好未来。

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