Now to the first in our series marking the remarkable chain of events that unfolded 55 years ago.

Ping-Pong Diplomacy began unexpectedly in 1971, when a US table tennis player mistakenly boarded the Chinese team bus.

The exchanges that followed helped trigger a turning point in China-US relations.

We begin this series with an exclusive interview with China's Liang Geliang, a key figure who witnessed and contributed to this unique chapter in history.

CGTN's Dan Williams reports.