“窨得茉莉无上味，列作人间第一香。”
见茶不见花、却有茉莉香的窨制工艺，需要把茶与花混合在一起，让茶吸收花香，再把花除去，反复九次以上才能形成了茉莉花茶浓郁的香气。
今年6月首次到访福州的美国华盛顿州塔科马市市长维多利亚·伍达德斯（Victoria Woodards）就受邀观看了茉莉花茶窨制的过程。
她深受启发，觉得人与人、城市与城市之间的情谊，也如这茉莉花茶一般，需要时间和耐心来慢慢酿造。
“窨制过程象征着通过不断地交流来建立友谊。”伍达德斯市长说，“友谊需要在一次次的联系中变得越来越深厚，就像茉莉花的香气在不断的窨制中越来越浓郁一样。”
“If you think about it, the scenting process symbolizes building a friendship again and again because you can’t just do it once, as it doesn’t last,” Woodards says. “If you continue to do it over and over again, then the bond is stronger, just like the fragrance gets stronger.”
“这就像福州和塔科马之间的合作关系一样。我们有着像茉莉花和茶叶般紧密的关系。”她说道。
“It's like the cooperation between Fuzhou and Tacoma. We have a very close relationship like the Jasmine flower and the tea leaves,” she said.
福州和塔科马之间的持续交流源于两市绵延三十载的友城情谊。这两座中美城市直线相隔近1万公里，坐飞机也要十几个小时，却早在30年前看见了彼此，结为了友好城市。为什么？
The continuous exchanges between Fuzhou and Tacoma stem from their 30-year sister city friendship. It takes over 10 hours by plane to travel between these two cities. Yet time and distance have not stopped the two from establishing sister-city ties, a relationship that has thrived over 30 years. Why？
帮助这两座城市在1994年跨越太平洋缔结友谊的是时任福州市委书记习近平。
The person who played a key role in forming those ties was Xi Jinping, who was Party Secretary of Fuzhou 30 years ago.
1993年底，时任福州市委书记习近平访问了塔科马。1994年，在双方的共同推动下，福州市和塔科马市缔结为姐妹友好城市。
两市结好至今，福州和塔科马之间累计有百余次团组互访，双方在经贸、文化、教育、体育等多个领域开展交流与合作。
In the years since then the two cities have engaged closely with each other, with about 100 delegations sent to each other between the two sides. Their collaboration covers many areas, including culture, education, sports and trade.
友城合作给塔科马市的中学生带来了更多到访中国的机会。他们看见真实的中国，对中国文化产生真实的热爱。
The sister-city bond gives students and teachers at Lincoln High School in Tacoma the chances to visit China. This has helped them experience the real China and foster a true appreciation for Chinese culture.
2015年9月23日，中国国家主席习近平首次对美国进行国事访问期间，再次到访塔科马并参观了林肯中学。该中学被选为访问场所也与塔科马与福州的友好城市关系和该校与福州教育学院附属中学为姐妹学校关系有关。
On Sept 23, 2015, during his first state visit to the US as China's president, Xi returned to Tacoma. Lincoln High School was selected as the venue, partly because of the sister-city ties and the sister-school relationship between the school and the Affiliated High School of Fuzhou Institute of Education.
在学校，习主席同师生们亲切交谈，向林肯中学赠送了介绍中国的图书和乒乓球桌，还邀请100名学生在2016年访问中国。
At the school, Xi spoke to students, brought a ping-pong table and books on China, and later sent a personal invitation for 100 students to visit China the following year.
“我感到非常幸运和感激能够被选中参加那次旅行。”现在已经23岁的里格尔·亚当斯回忆道，他是2016年受邀前往中国的林肯高中师生团的一员。
"I feel incredibly lucky and grateful for being selected for that trip," said Rigel Adams, now 23, who was a member of the Lincoln High School group that traveled to China in 2016.
“在那几天，我们做了很多事情——与其他中国学生见面，参观不同的学校，真正体验了中国文化。那是让我一生难忘的经历。在2016年访问之后，我深深爱上了中国的人民和文化。这里的每个人都很有礼貌，而且更加关心他人。这与美国非常不同，我很喜欢这种感觉。”
"We did so much in those days, meeting other Chinese students, visiting different schools and getting to truly experience Chinese culture. It was the experience of a lifetime. After I visited in 2016, I just fell in love with the people and the culture in China. Everyone here is caring and polite, and it's much more community-focused. It's very different from the US, and I like it."
自2016年以来，亚当斯又自己来中国旅游了六次并访问了许多中国城市。
Since that trip, Adams, who recently graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in science and economics, has been back to China six more times and visited many Chinese cities.
亚当斯最近经济学本科毕业，他说：“在那些旅行中，我能够建立一些个人和工作关系。我希望能继续扩大这些关系，也许有一天能将其发展成商业机会。”
"During those trips, I was able to build some personal as well as professional relationships. My hope is to continue expanding those relationships and maybe to one day (turn that) into a business relationship."
过去三十年，福州和塔科马通过友好互动收获了实实在在的发展机会、增进了互相理解。面向未来，两座城市期待进一步延续它们的友谊。
Over the past 30 years Fuzhou and Tacoma have benefited from development opportunities and deeper mutual understanding through their friendly interactions. Today both cities are excited about keeping their friendship strong in every way.
中美关系希望在人民，基础在民间，未来在青年，活力在地方。
The hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.
福州和塔科马绵延30年的友城情缘，跨越了山海阻隔，行稳致远。未来的日子里，这份友谊将继续深化，使得两地人民收获更多交流与合作机会，共同书写更加美好的未来篇章。
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