April 17th, 1971 - American Ping-Pong Team Begins Ping-Pong Diplomacy in China

Following an interesting chain of events, the American ping-pong team was invited to China in April 1971 after the 31^st Japanese Ping-Pong Tournament. The allowing of nine team members along with five American journalists marked an important occasion as the first Americans allowed into China after its Communist takeover in 1949. Primer Chou En-lai worked out the public relations between the two countries beautifully stating confidently, “You have opened a new chapter in the relations of the American and Chinese people.” This event marked a healthy start to President Nixon’s détente plan through a “ping heard around the world”.