Kuliang in Fuzhou, Fujian: a village that bridges China and the US

President Xi Jinping used to work in Fujian Province for 17 and a half years and set out a 20-year plan for Fuzhou City.

Over the past 30 years, Fuzhou's GDP has grown more than 100-fold since the early 1990s and one mountain village there has quietly become a symbol of friendship between ordinary Chinese and Americans.

At the heart of the village stands an old well, engraved with the words: "Foreign Local Public Well."

It's a quiet testament to a time when Chinese and foreign residents shared the same water source -- and the same community in a village called "Guling" in the outskirts of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, known to foreigners a century ago as "Kuliang."

During the late Qing dynasty, around 3,000 foreigners lived here, building villas, clinics and even a photo studio.

One of those residents was an American physics professor who spent ten childhood years in Kuliang.

After returning to the US, he longed to revisit the place but could never find the exact location.

His widow carried that wish forward.

In 1992, then-Fuzhou Party Secretary Xi Jinping read about her quest in a letter published in the People's Daily.

He invited her to visit Kuliang, fulfilling her husband's dream.

Twenty years later, as China's vice president, Xi retold the story during a speech in the US, reigniting global interest in Kuliang as a symbol of people-to-people diplomacy.

During Xi's tenure in Fujian, he spearheaded the "3820" strategic plan with a 20-year vision to double key economic indicators in three years for Fuzhou, reach advanced city status in eight years, and approach mid-tier Asian development levels in two decades.

The plan included marine development, a university city blueprint, and nearly 300 policies to strengthen cross-strait ties with Taiwan.

Preservation also played a key role.

The historic "Three Lanes and Seven Alleys" district, was saved from demolition during Xi's tenure.

Inside, visitors find centuries-old residences, including that of prominent Chinese translator-writer Yan Fu, who translated Evolution and Ethics into Chinese.

Among the highlights are intricate Shoushan stone carvings.

Ye Qin, who carries on the intangible cultural heritage of Shoushan stone carving, says in five or ten years, the stone may run out but our memory is eternal -- as the medium may change, the legacy will endure.