“窨得茉莉無上味，列作人間第一香。”
見茶不見花、卻有茉莉香的窨制工藝，需要把茶與花混合在一起，讓茶吸收花香，再把花除去，反復九次以上才能形成了茉莉花茶濃郁的香氣。
今年6月首次到訪福州的美國華盛頓州塔科馬市市長維多利亞·伍達德斯（Victoria Woodards）就受邀觀看了茉莉花茶窨制的過程。
她深受啟發，覺得人與人、城市與城市之間的情誼，也如這茉莉花茶一般，需要時間和耐心來慢慢釀造。
“窨制過程象征著通過不斷地交流來建立友誼。”伍達德斯市長說，“友誼需要在一次次的聯系中變得越來越深厚，就像茉莉花的香氣在不斷的窨制中越來越濃郁一樣。”
“If you think about it, the scenting process symbolizes building a friendship again and again because you can’t just do it once, as it doesn’t last,” Woodards says. “If you continue to do it over and over again, then the bond is stronger, just like the fragrance gets stronger.”
“這就像福州和塔科馬之間的合作關系一樣。我們有著像茉莉花和茶葉般緊密的關系。”她說道。
“It's like the cooperation between Fuzhou and Tacoma. We have a very close relationship like the Jasmine flower and the tea leaves,” she said.
福州和塔科馬之間的持續交流源于兩市綿延三十載的友城情誼。這兩座中美城市直線相隔近1萬公里，坐飛機也要十幾個小時，卻早在30年前看見了彼此，結為了友好城市。為什么？
The continuous exchanges between Fuzhou and Tacoma stem from their 30-year sister city friendship. It takes over 10 hours by plane to travel between these two cities. Yet time and distance have not stopped the two from establishing sister-city ties, a relationship that has thrived over 30 years. Why？
幫助這兩座城市在1994年跨越太平洋締結友誼的是時任福州市委書記習近平。
The person who played a key role in forming those ties was Xi Jinping, who was Party Secretary of Fuzhou 30 years ago.
1993年底，時任福州市委書記習近平訪問了塔科馬。1994年，在雙方的共同推動下，福州市和塔科馬市締結為姐妹友好城市。
兩市結好至今，福州和塔科馬之間累計有百余次團組互訪，雙方在經貿、文化、教育、體育等多個領域開展交流與合作。
In the years since then the two cities have engaged closely with each other, with about 100 delegations sent to each other between the two sides. Their collaboration covers many areas, including culture, education, sports and trade.
友城合作給塔科馬市的中學生帶來了更多到訪中國的機會。他們看見真實的中國，對中國文化產生真實的熱愛。
The sister-city bond gives students and teachers at Lincoln High School in Tacoma the chances to visit China. This has helped them experience the real China and foster a true appreciation for Chinese culture.
2015年9月23日，中國國家主席習近平首次對美國進行國事訪問期間，再次到訪塔科馬并參觀了林肯中學。該中學被選為訪問場所也與塔科馬與福州的友好城市關系和該校與福州教育學院附屬中學為姐妹學校關系有關。
On Sept 23, 2015, during his first state visit to the US as China's president, Xi returned to Tacoma. Lincoln High School was selected as the venue, partly because of the sister-city ties and the sister-school relationship between the school and the Affiliated High School of Fuzhou Institute of Education.
在學校，習主席同師生們親切交談，向林肯中學贈送了介紹中國的圖書和乒乓球桌，還邀請100名學生在2016年訪問中國。
At the school, Xi spoke to students, brought a ping-pong table and books on China, and later sent a personal invitation for 100 students to visit China the following year.
“我感到非常幸運和感激能夠被選中參加那次旅行。”現在已經23歲的里格爾·亞當斯回憶道，他是2016年受邀前往中國的林肯高中師生團的一員。
"I feel incredibly lucky and grateful for being selected for that trip," said Rigel Adams, now 23, who was a member of the Lincoln High School group that traveled to China in 2016.
“在那幾天，我們做了很多事情——與其他中國學生見面，參觀不同的學校，真正體驗了中國文化。那是讓我一生難忘的經歷。在2016年訪問之后，我深深愛上了中國的人民和文化。這里的每個人都很有禮貌，而且更加關心他人。這與美國非常不同，我很喜歡這種感覺。”
"We did so much in those days, meeting other Chinese students, visiting different schools and getting to truly experience Chinese culture. It was the experience of a lifetime. After I visited in 2016, I just fell in love with the people and the culture in China. Everyone here is caring and polite, and it's much more community-focused. It's very different from the US, and I like it."
自2016年以來，亞當斯又自己來中國旅游了六次并訪問了許多中國城市。
Since that trip, Adams, who recently graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in science and economics, has been back to China six more times and visited many Chinese cities.
亞當斯最近經濟學本科畢業，他說：“在那些旅行中，我能夠建立一些個人和工作關系。我希望能繼續擴大這些關系，也許有一天能將其發展成商業機會。”
"During those trips, I was able to build some personal as well as professional relationships. My hope is to continue expanding those relationships and maybe to one day (turn that) into a business relationship."
過去三十年，福州和塔科馬通過友好互動收獲了實實在在的發展機會、增進了互相理解。面向未來，兩座城市期待進一步延續它們的友誼。
Over the past 30 years Fuzhou and Tacoma have benefited from development opportunities and deeper mutual understanding through their friendly interactions. Today both cities are excited about keeping their friendship strong in every way.
中美關系希望在人民，基礎在民間，未來在青年，活力在地方。
The hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.
福州和塔科馬綿延30年的友城情緣，跨越了山海阻隔，行穩致遠。未來的日子里，這份友誼將繼續深化，使得兩地人民收獲更多交流與合作機會，共同書寫更加美好的未來篇章。
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