American player Glenn Cowan (right) shakes hands with Chinese player Zhuang Zedong (center) after getting off a bus for Chinese players during the 31st World Table Tennis Championships on April 4, 1971 in Nagoya, Japan. Glenn Cowan, who missed a bus for his own team, accidentally boarded a bus for Chinese players, which led to a domino series of events that eventually saw the establishment of diplomatic relationship between China and the US. File photo: VCG

Late Chinese premier Zhou Enlai meets with the American delegation of table tennis players who were invited to visit China on April 14, 1971. File photo:People's Daily

A ceremony is held to welcome the American delegation at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing, where Chinese and American athletes played a friendly match on April 13, 1971. File photo: Xinhua

Chinese table tennis player Yang Ruihua (left) shakes hands with US athlete Dick Miles (right) prior to a friendly match in Shanghai, East China on April 15, 1971. File photo: Xinhua

The American table tennis delegation visit the Great Wall during their China trip in April 1971. File photo: XinhuaFile photo: Xinhua

Chinese table tennis players pay a return visit to the United States at the invitation of the American Table Tennis Association in April 1972. File photo shows Chinese table tennis players arriving in Detroit, Michigan on April 13, 1972. File photo: Xinhua

Detroit spectators watch a game between Chinese and US athletes, holding placards written in Chinese characters to welcome Chinese table tennis players in April 1972. File photo: Xinhua

Chinese and American table tennis players exchange knowledge and experiences in Memphis, Tennessee in April, 1972. File photo: Xinhua