When a group of US high school students penned a letter to the Chinese President earlier this year they didn't expect a response, so they were "very surprised" when a top Chinese diplomat personally delivered a reply from Xi Jinping himself.
The first-year Mandarin Chinese students at Niles North High School in Illinois reportedly wrote to Mr Xi around Chinese New Year, sending their holiday wishes but also asking him about his work, life, hobbies, and opinion of America.
Mr Xi replied by saying that his job is "very tiring" but makes him very happy and that he is "deeply impressed" by the country's "beautiful sceneries, warm people and diverse cultures".
"I have also made many American friends, including young American friends," he wrote in a goodwill letter published by Chinese state-owned media Xinhua news agency.
"My job is to serve the people, very tiring, but it makes me very happy.
"I have a strong interest in philosophy, history, literature, culture, music and sports, and many of my hobbies developed from middle school and have been maintained ever since."
Mr Xi's letter, which was personally delivered by Zhao Jian, the consul-general of the People's Republic of China in Chicago, also encouraged the students "to contribute to the friendship between the Chinese and American people".
"I hope you will continue to 'add oil' [work hard] and make greater progress in your Chinese study," he wrote.
"The younger generation are the future of Sino-US friendship."
The Chinese President ended the letter by inviting the students to visit China, noting that it is better to see something once than to hear about it a hundred times.