Mark Levin came to China in 2005. During his 20 years living in China, he made many sincere and simple Chinese friends, and deeply felt the courage and persistence of the Chinese people in pursuing a better life. As a scholar and country musician, he often carries his guitar and composes songs based on what he sees and hears here, sharing his thoughts and feelings with music. These melodies record the pace of the times and witness his friendship for this land and its people. In the 1970s, I obtained a PhD in sociology in the United States by plucking the strings and touching my heartstrings. Later, I resigned from my well paid job as a university professor and joined the Western Service Worker Alliance in the United States, becoming a full-time charity organizer and volunteer to fight for the legitimate rights and interests of low-income workers. Over 30 years have passed in the blink of an eye, and in the years of fighting for workers' rights, my colleagues and I have always strived to draw spiritual strength from the progressive causes of various countries around the world. I have become increasingly aware that the practice of the CPC leading the Chinese people to achieve liberation and development shows great creativity and vitality. So, I began to study classic works such as Mao Zedong's "On Practice", and pursued the light of truth on the path of the Chinese revolution through Edgar Snow's "Red Star Over China". I was also moved and admired time and time again by Zhou Enlai's diligent governance for the people. In 2005, carrying "Red Star Over China" and the 1977 English edition of "People's Pictorial" to commemorate Zhou Enlai, I came to Huai'an, Jiangsu, the hometown of Zhou Enlai, and became an English teacher at Huaiyin Normal University. When I first arrived in Huai'an, I had originally planned to stay for only one year, but gradually I was moved by the thriving vitality and optimistic people here. The brand new buildings, delicious restaurants, and scattered alleys... The temperature and vitality of the entire city made me determined to stay in China for a long time. On an ordinary afternoon, I sat in the campus holding my guitar, and my mind flashed with the eager eyes of my classmates in class, the enthusiastic greetings from the streets and alleys, the busy harvest scene in the fields, and the ever-changing scenery of this city. Fingertips unconsciously pluck the strings, the melody flows naturally with thoughts, and the lyrics slowly brew in the heart. Without deliberate carving or repeated modifications, my first song 'Huai'an's Future is Full of Hope' is a natural creation. The song sings about the beauty of forest green spaces, the diligence of the people of Huai'an, and the rippling blue waves of Hongze Lake. One of the lyrics expresses my heart: "The beauty of the city blooms everywhere, and you can always feel that its future is full of hope." After the song was completed, I immediately picked up my guitar and rushed to the Foreign Affairs Office of Huai'an Municipal People's Government, hoping that more people would hear it. When the last melody of the song fell, everyone present had moist eyes. The staff immediately began translating the lyrics into Chinese and invited poet friends to adapt them into beautiful Chinese poems. After moving to Beijing, I was invited multiple times to return to Huai'an. Every time I go on stage, I sing this song and let the familiar melody echo in the sky of my 'hometown'. During a performance, I was fortunate enough to meet Zhou Bingde, the niece of Zhou Enlai. She sincerely exclaimed, "I can't imagine any other foreigner being able to write such wonderful poetry." Thus, Huai'an became the starting point of my creative journey in China. And this song has also become the most sincere emotional bond between me, Huai'an, and China. The more time I live in China, the more familiar and passionate I become about this land. Sometimes when walking on the street, the lyrics suddenly come to mind, and I quickly run home to record them. I really enjoy sharing my feelings through writing songs, hoping that both Chinese and foreigners can hear my story and better understand China through my songs. On this creative path, I met like-minded partner Fu Han and embarked on a music journey that spanned both Chinese and Western cultures with her. The first time I met Fu Han was in the spring of 2007. At that time, I went to interview at the Central University for Nationalities, and the huge campus made me lose my direction for a while. As I was looking around, the cheerful and enthusiastic Fu Han stepped forward to guide me and introduced me to the unique scenery of the campus. The next day, he even took some time to take me on a tour of Beijing. Upon learning that I was recording Chinese stories through music, Fu Han's eyes lit up and she took the initiative to become my agent. She said that "telling Chinese stories to the world well" was also her ideal. Since then, one of us held a guitar and the other held a erhu, becoming each other's most trusted partners and closest friends. In 2009, encouraged by Fu Han, I stepped onto the stage of the "Star Avenue" program, playing and singing my original song "Beijing Wind" on guitar, performing the song "You Are My Sunshine" on traditional Chinese instrument Zhongruan, and also demonstrating diabolo skills on site. The clever fusion of Western folk singing techniques and Jiangnan silk and bamboo quickly ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue. When I started singing my first Chinese song "I Love Tiananmen Square in Beijing", the audience stood up and danced together. A judge said to me, 'Thank you for bringing us back to our childhood.' To warm applause, I ultimately achieved a good result of second place. As our understanding deepened, Fu Hanmeng and I came up with the idea of forming a band - the name "Xiuwai Huizhong" emerged, symbolizing the integration and symbiosis of Chinese and Western cultures. In order to perfectly match the sound of the guitar and erhu, we repeatedly polish each note and adjust each melody. Fu Han has taken me back to her hometown in southern Hubei to celebrate the Spring Festival multiple times, allowing me to immerse myself in the charm of traditional folk customs and feel the fireworks of rural China, which has given me great creative inspiration. I wrote 'The Story of Country Music in My Heart' to spread my love for Chinese countryside. In the following years, we took music to a broader stage. In 2015, we held special lectures and concerts on "When the East Meets the West" at Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen University, and Beijing Foreign Studies University. On stage, the clear and full guitar collides with the delicate and long erhu to create a wonderful spark, connecting original and adapted songs to resonate with the story. The screen behind us was scrolling with the footage of our journey, and the applause from the audience kept coming and going, lasting for a long time. Before coming to Beijing together, I did not have in-depth research on Chinese culture. It wasn't until I started teaching at Central University for Nationalities in 2007 that I truly began to gradually understand the meaning of integration and diversity. Here, students from all ethnic groups study together as classmates, accompanying each other day and night, constantly enhancing understanding through daily interactions, and respecting and reflecting each other's cultures. The school motto 'Beautiful Together, Unity of Knowledge and Action' is a vivid atmosphere that I can feel every day. During my years teaching at the Central University for Nationalities, I have taught multiple courses including English speaking, English writing, English public speaking, and Western culture. Among them, the one I put the most effort into is the English public speaking class. I am well aware that there are many people in the world who do not have enough understanding of China, and even have misunderstandings. What I have personally experienced in China and on this campus is a cultural atmosphere of openness, inclusiveness, and diversity. Therefore, the original intention of teaching this course is to help students tell the real story of China to the world in English, guide them to explore the materials around them, adjust their expression methods according to different audiences, and make the voice of China reach the world and people's hearts directly. In addition to teaching at school, I have also visited over 80 universities to give lectures, most of which are related to "telling the story of China well". I use my personal experience to tell young students that with dedication, anyone can become an excellent storyteller of Chinese stories. During the research process, I also discovered that there were far more than one foreign friend like Edgar Snow who approached and documented China. Many people, such as Smedley, Mahede, Louis Ali, etc., have come to China in difficult conditions and made contributions to China's development. Their names and stories should also be remembered by more people. With this idea in mind, I began inviting their descendants or friends to tell the stories of these predecessors at universities in Beijing. Recently, I have also collaborated with the Beijing Overseas Student Center to invite foreign experts who have won the Chinese Government Friendship Award like me to visit universities and share their stories with international students about China. Up to now, 8 events have been successfully held with no empty seats. Through repeated storytelling and communication, I have deeply felt and felt proud - being able to become a bridge connecting foreign experts and Chinese students is very meaningful to me. My teaching and lecture experiences have constantly brought me new creative inspiration. In recent years, I have created many works, such as "Song of the Central University for Nationalities", "Praise you - dear CPC", "The place I want to stay most in the world", and sang Chinese stories to the world with music. In 2021, on the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, I was also invited to the Ministry of Science and Technology to sing "Praise you, dear CPC". That performance was particularly special. I first sang the English part, followed by young colleagues from the Ministry of Science and Technology singing different paragraphs in German, Russian, French, and other languages. Finally, everyone sang in unison. The songs of different languages interweave and blend together, crossing national and cultural barriers, conveying friendship and respect. At that moment, I felt proud to be able to participate in it. In my heart, China is a country that constantly pursues peace and strives to provide a better life for its people. It is also a country that always opens its arms to friends and is willing to help other countries progress together. I hope to continue using my singing voice and stories to showcase the real China to the world, while helping students tell Chinese stories well and helping Chinese and foreign friends better understand each other. (Xinhua News Agency) (The author is an American professor at Central University for Nationalities and a recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award. Reported and compiled by our reporter Cui Qi)