Peking University, September 18, 2025: On September 15, 2025, the UChicago women’s and men’s basketball teams visited Peking University as part of a cultural exchange. Beyond a friendly match on court between UChicago women’s and PKU women’s basketball team, the exchange offered players from both universities a rare opportunity to share their perspectives on sports, education and culture, deepening mutual understanding and bridging cultural gaps. 

From the beautiful Weiming Lake, UChicago students embarked on a campus tour, soaking in the iconic PKU landmarks while learning about the rich history of the campus. Settling down at Yenching Academy, UChicago students engaged in a cultural exchange dialogue with the PKU women’s basketball team and students from YuanPei College and Yenching Academy. The moderators of the event, UChicago alumni and current Yenching scholars Devin Haas and Liu Baoxiang, a PKU exchange student to the University of Chinago in 2024, extended a warm welcome to the delegation, before kickstarting the session with an informative trivia quiz. The atmosphere quickly lightened up as UChicago and PKU students participated enthusiastically in spirited competition over the number of canteens and the founding history of both schools. 

During the sharing session, players from both teams exchanged questions about their universities’ sporting cultures. Alexis Clark from the UChicago women’s basketball team asked about her Chinese counterparts’ backgrounds in basketball, such as when they began playing and how they managed to balance academics with athletics. In response, Cai Yuxin from Peking University’s women’s basketball team shared that many of her teammates had started playing from a young age. While academics is extremely important in China, she emphasized that basketball carries equal importance for the team. This dual commitment, she explained, drives the players to push themselves to the highest level to excel both on the court and in the classroom.



For the crowning event of the visit, the delegation proceeded to Khoo Teck Phuat Sports Complex for the highly anticipated Peking University-The University of Chicago Women’s Basketball Friendship Match. To the cheers of excited spectators, both teams blazed through the court, shooting hoops in quick succession in an awesome display of teamwork and talent. The match, which ended with PKU winning 63 to 50, saw lasting bonds forged through this common language of basketball.

Looking ahead, such initiatives can continue to foster dialogue and understanding between different cultures, proving that friendship and respect can thrive even where differences exist.

Written by: Chloe Tan Xuan En and Lee Jie Xin
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Photo by: Cao Mengyao, Yan Linlin, Wang Ziqian, Yu Qize, Young Images