BXSCC + NAAAP Baltimore Holiday Party |
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| December 11th, 2025 | Along with partners at the National Association of Asian American Professionals Baltimore Chapter, the BXSCC co-hosted a holiday party for all current members and a few special guests to celebrate our 2025 accomplishments and a exciting 2026 to come! Thanks to Justin Lipsky & Sam Walczak for organizing, Orient Express for the venue and food, and all attendees for their time. |
Xiamen Media Group Delegation |
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| December 3rd, 2025 | Current and past BXSCC leadership welcomed a delegation of six media professionals from Xiamen who have been interviewing key personnel related to Xiamen’s sister cities. In Baltimore, the emphasis was on the longevity of our 40-year relationship with Xiamen, with an eye towards new partnerships such as with Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and with featuring future leaders such as alumni from our Youth Ambassadors student summer camp program. To view the (Chinese-language) 8 minute documentary, please follow this link to its corresponding news article. |
BXSCC Announces 2026 Leadership Team |
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| November, 2025 – January, 2026 | The BXSCC is pleased to welcome our leadership team for 2026. Congratulations to our new Chair (Chelsea Nakabayashi), Vice Chair (Justin Lipsky), and Treasurer (Xin (Cindy) Wang)! Their terms will run through the end of 2027. Continuing officers on our Executive Committee include Sam Walczak as Secretary (through the end of 2026) and Hosea Chew as Member-at-Large (through the end of 2027). For the latest information on our Subcommittees and Functional Teams, please visit our Leadership page. |
China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference and Baltimore-Xiamen 40th Anniversary Celebration in Xiamen |
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| October, 2025 | The BXSCC was honored to be invited to the 7th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Hangzhou, China and 40th anniversary celebrations in Xiamen in late October 2025.The Hangzhou agenda included site visits and a kick-off concert by members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) as well as forums on educational exchanges, urban innovation and development, sustainable urban practices, and case studies of sister cities exchanges. The Xiamen agenda included an exchange between the BSO and Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra (XPO), the presentation of books on behalf of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) to Xiamen Municipal Library (Jimei Branch), a 40th anniversary concert by members of the BSO, a pop-up concert by BSO members and Xiamen students on Gulangyu (Island), a meeting with Xiamen leadership, a visit to the tree planted by Mayors Schaefer and Zou in Wanshi Botanical Garden in 1985, a session with Port of Xiamen officials, and a visit to Shuangshi High School to discuss future education initiatives.Baltimore delegates on the trip included Hosea Chew (Director of Administration, Office of the City Council President), John Facelo (President, Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc.), Xin (Cindy) Wang (Chair, BXSCC), and long-time BSC member Manuel Knight. At the conference in Hangzhou, the state of Maryland was also represented by delegates from Montgomery County. A representative of the Maryland Department of Commerce joined for both the Hangzhou and Xiamen legs of the trip. In both Hangzhou and Xiamen, members of the Baltimore’s very own BSO performed at multiple concerts.We thank our hosts, members, and partners for the success of this trip as well as the successes of the first 40 years of the Baltimore-Xiamen relationship! |
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Send-Off Concert |
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| Wednesday, October 8th, 2025 | In Fall 2025, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra sent a delegation of five musicians to China to represent the Baltimore Symphony, City of Baltimore, and State of Maryland. In addition to special concerts and cultural exchanges in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Xi’an, the tour included a performance in Xiamen celebrating the long-standing sister city relationship between Xiamen and Baltimore. A special Send-Off Concert was hosted at Baltimore City Hall on Oct 8. |
2025 Youth Ambassadors Student Travel Program |
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| Summer 2025 | Seven Baltimore youth participated in the 2025 Youth Ambassadors Program, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC) and the 45th anniversary of the Maryland-Anhui Province Sister State Committee. From July 15th to August 1st, 2025, the delegation, which also included two teachers and two parent chaperones, traveled to seven cities throughout China, including Xiamen in Fujian Province; Huangshan, Anqing, and Hefei in Anhui Province; Nanjing in Jiangsu Province; and Shanghai. The Youth Ambassadors Program aims to develop student leadership by providing youth with the opportunity to learn what it means to be an international ambassador of peace and friendship at the local level. This year’s program played a significant role in commemorating the two sister anniversaries by connecting past relations to the future. The Foreign Affairs Offices of both Xiamen and Anhui hosted the Youth Ambassadors, who presented citations from City of Baltimore and State of Maryland leaders to their Chinese counterparts. This exchange program strengthens the friendship between the two regions and builds connections for the future. |
BXSCC Continues Partnership with Bard High School Early College – Baltimore
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| Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 | The 2024-2025 school year program included:
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Asia North 2025 |
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| May 2nd-31st, 2025 | Asia North, a month-long series of arts and cultural events in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District commenced on Friday, May 2nd! The opening reception featured still life drawing, a zither performance, dragon dancing, South Asian dancing, and much more – and will also include catered food provided by the BXSCC.Further on in the Asia North series: The May 9th opening – with catered food – to the week-long “Veiled Forms” exhibit is being managed by the Baltimore-Kawasaki (Japan) Sister City Committee and supported by the BXSCC as well as the Baltimore-Changwon (South Korea) Sister City Committee. |
19th Annual National Committee on U.S.-China Relations CHINA Town Hall |
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| April 24th, 2025 | National Speaker (via webcast): Ryan Hass Director of John L. Thorton China Center at the Brookings InstitutionMatthew Turpin Visiting Fellow at the Hoover InstitutionLingling Wei Chief China Correspondent at The Wall Street Journal Local Speaker (in person): |
BXSCC Joins the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) Baltimore’s Baltimore AAPI Night |
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| April 10th, 2025 | The BXSCC, along with our fellow Asia-affiliated sister city committees of Changwon and Kawasaki, tabled at NAAAP Baltimore’s AAPI Night at The 2640 Space for an evening of engagement with and celebration of Baltimore’s AAPI community.For more about this event, see the corresponding NAAAP Baltimore webpage. |
BXSCC Joins Maryland Asian American Business Conference |
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| April 10th, 2025 | The BXSCC was honored to be invited to the Maryland Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives’s Maryland Asian American Business Conference in Rockville!For more about this event, see the corresponding press release. |
Baltimore Welcomes the Vice Mayor of Xiamen and Other Xiamen Dignitaries |
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| April 7th & 8th, 2025 | A delegation led by Xiamen Vice Mayor ZHUANG Rongliang and including representatives from the Xiamen Port Authority and Xiamen Foreign Affairs Office visited Baltimore over two days in April. While in Baltimore, the delegation met with representatives of the Maryland Port Authority and Baltimore’s Office of the Mayor, toured the just-opened BXSCC 40th anniversary photo exhibit at Enoch Pratt Central Library, and discussed an array of ongoing and upcoming exchanges with members of the BXSCC and other city government representatives. |
The BXSCC Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Baltimore – Xiamen Relationship |
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| 2025 | We’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Baltimore and Xiamen! A photo exhibit commemorating this history is on display on the 2nd floor of the Enoch Pratt Central Library, April through May. |
BXSCC Announces 2025 Leadership Team |
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| December 2024 through March 2025 | The BXSCC is pleased to welcome our leadership team for the 2025 term. Congratulations to our new Vice Chair (Chelsea Nakabayashi), Secretary (Sam Walczak), and Treasurer (Justin Lipsky)! Their terms will run through the end of 2026. Continuing officers on our Executive Committee include Xin (Cindy) Wang as Chair and Hosea Chew as Member-at-Large, both through the end of 2025. Continuing appointed officers include Robin Su as Business Subcommittee Chair and Jeannette Felton as Education Subcommittee Chair. For the latest information on our Subcommittees and Functional Teams, please visit our Leadership page. |
Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, An International Partnership