Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and US First Lady Melania Trump visited an art school in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, as their husbands met for more bilateral talks at US President Donald Trump’s’ Mar-a-Lago estate.
The two first ladies visited different classrooms at the Bak Middle School of the Arts, talked with students and were also treated to performances by them, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan visits Bak Middle School for the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida on April 7, 2017. /AFP Photo
Peng, herself a famous Chinese singer, chose the school for its strong emphasis on arts, according to CGTN reporter Han Peng.
The Chinese first lady, who accompanied her husband to Florida for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump, also joined a class about politics and economics, answered a question from a student reporter about her connection with the arts, and was presented with a student's painting as a souvenir, Xinhua said.
Peng said China and the US should enhance communication and cooperation in the area of arts, and hoped that teachers and students at the Bak Middle School of the Arts would make great contributions in strengthening cultural ties between the two countries.
Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan receives a souvenir on her visit to Bak Middle School for the Art in West Palm Beach, Florida on April 7, 2017. /AFP Photo
For security reasons, students at the school were not told in advance who their special guests would be, according to CGTN’s Han Peng.
"We were sitting and waiting. Every time the door opened, we were a little nervous. Is she here yet? And finally when she came in, we were all just so shocked,” said student Rachel Hobbs.
Other students who performed for the two first ladies, and their parents, similarly expressed nervousness but also excitement at the visit, as Han reported.
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