FUZHOU, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Isaac Gray, a young man from California, now has a small tree he planted himself on the other side of the Pacific, on the hills of Kuliang in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province.

Gray took out a card to hang on the tree and carefully wrote down his message: "Here's to another 100 years of China-U.S. exchanges! Hail the China-U.S. friendship!"

On Monday afternoon, participants of the 2024 "Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival," along with "Friends of Kuliang" and other guests, planted "trees of friendship" at Kuliang, a hillside resort among foreign expatriates in the suburbs of Fuzhou.

"Long live the friendship between Chinese and U.S. youth""May U.S.-China friendship lasts forever""Peace on earth"... Good wishes and blessings were written on cards and hung on the tree branches.

"I am excited to plant this tree," said Jeremiah Anthony, adding that he hopes the tree will become very big and strong and represent how strong the U.S-China friendship can be.

Planting the tree with Anthony was Sha Yezhou, a young faculty member from Capital University of Economics and Business. They just met, but had already had endless topics to talk about.

"Anthony shared with me his plan to drive from China to France to watch the Paris Olympics. He has also planned his itinerary in China and wants to personally experience Chinese-made electric cars. This idea is amazing!" Sha said.

Carla Dirlikov, a U.S. opera singer, said friendship is like trees. "We must nourish the friendship. We must give it the water, give it the time and give it the care that it deserves."