China Journal - Cultural Exchange Documentary, directed by Richard Kaplan

• In 1985, as members of the U.S./China Friendship Camp, sixty American and Chinese students spend four weeks together in Beijing, Beidaihe-by-the-Sea and Inner Mongolia. This rare cultural exchange is captured in China Journal, a film that chronicles the interactions among these young men and women.
• When the Chinese students welcome their American counterparts at the Beijing airport, their first introductions are strained and formal. However, they soon get past their shyness and begin to forge deep bonds in a very short time. All of the students are inquisitive and the answers to many of their questions shatter some long-held stereotypes by both groups.
• As their Chinese hosts lead them on a tour of sights, including a local youth center, a village, and the Great Wall of China, the American students absorb the culture and heritage of China. Just as important, they begin to appreciate the friendship extended to them. As the students from both countries realize, it becomes important to share and learn as individuals, not as political representatives. And with each day, they recognize how much alike all of them actually are.

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