With the China-US Sister Cities Conference set to open in Hangzhou this week, the city is preparing to welcome hundreds of American delegates, including Hosea Chew, the Baltimore City Council's director of administration. During an interview, Chew joyfully showed reporter Liu Mohan a musical instrument he had just purchased at a souvenir shop. "I've been to China about eight times, and each time I visit, I discover something new," Chew said.

As a veteran of the Baltimore-Xiamen sister city program, he is now preparing to share Baltimore's innovative stories with his Chinese counterpart.