Xi Jinping and his four-decade bond with Iowan friends

CURIOUS YOUNG MAN

In the spring of 1985, Xi, then an official of Zhengding county, Hebei province, led a five-member delegation to Iowa, known as "the world's food capital," to learn about crop production and livestock farming.

During the visit, he spent three days in Muscatine, a city in rural eastern Iowa along the Mississippi River, where he stayed with local hosts Thomas and Eleanor Dvorchak. The homestay left a lasting impression.

Recalling the trip decades later, Xi said he still remembered where he stayed: 2911 Bonnie Drive. "That was my first face-to-face contact with the Americans," Xi said. "The days I spent with them are unforgettable."