A delegation of 39 young students and musicians from Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, arrived in Xi'an on Aug 2 to embark on an eight-day music and cultural exchange tour.

Xi'an established sister-city relations with Montgomery County in 2014, and over the past 12 years the two sides have maintained frequent exchanges in government visits, education, culture, and sports. This event serves as a key initiative to deepen cultural exchanges between the sister cities.

Feng Hao, leader of the US delegation, said that music is a borderless language for international exchange. The delegation will exchange ideas with young people in Xi'an, gain in-depth exposure to cultures of Qin (221–206 BC) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, and build a regular exchange platform for youth from both regions.

Music experts, including David Hatch, a pianist with four Grammy Award nominations, and Silvan Negrutiu, director of the Piano Studies at Northern Arizona University School of Music, will participate in the event. This marks Negrutiu's fourth visit to Xi'an, and he hopes to unite young artists to facilitate the integration of Eastern and Western arts.

The delegation will visit the city's landmarks, including Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, the Xi'an City Wall, and the Grand Tang Mall, and experience intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, Hanfu culture, and Shaanxi province folk customs.

They will also watch the renowned The Song of Everlasting Sorrow performance, and conduct exchanges with students from Xi'an Gaoxin No 1 Fengdong High School. The closing concert will be held at Xi'an Concert Hall.