Chinese Consul General in Chicago Wang Baodong throws the first pitch on Monday during the opening ceremony of the Musco Youth Sports Exchange in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where a youth softball team from Shanghai participated in athletic and cultural exchanges with local students. Mingmei Li / China Daily
Yellow soybean seeds may have first connected Iowa and China, but today, yellow softballs and student exchanges are carrying that relationship forward.
Students from Shanghai's Beisibao U13 softball team, along with representatives from the Shanghai Baseball and Softball Association, the Shanghai Friendship Association and the Shanghai Sports Federation, are now visiting Oskaloosa, Iowa. During the nine-day Musco Youth Sports Exchange program, they are competing with local players while experiencing life in the Midwestern community.
The program began in 2025, when more than 100 young athletes from China and the United States first gathered in Shanghai. Beyond the competition, they shared meals, explored the city and spent time together, forging friendships that lasted long after the games ended. Building on last year's inaugural exchange, organizers hope the program will become a long-term platform for youth friendship.
