"Ping-pong diplomacy" is a well-known term in the history of US-China ties, but few may be aware that music also played an often overlooked part in thawing the frosty relations between the two countries.

Although it is commonplace today for artists from the United States and China to share a stage, it most certainly was not the case before the 1970s.

The Philadelphia Orchestra was at the vanguard, making history with their pioneering trip to China in 1973.

Founded in 1900, the orchestra has a long and distinguished history of touring the world. Its lasting ties with China mark a significant chapter in the orchestra's history of more than a century.

As cultural exchanges between the two sides flourish, the Philadelphia Orchestra continues to cultivate its ties with China as it prepares for its May visit to the Chinese mainland to celebrate the 40th anniversary of US-China diplomatic relations.

In 1973, at the invitation of then US president Richard Nixon, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to visit the People's Republic of China - a trip considered a key part of Washington's rapprochement with Beijing in the 1970s.

The trip came at a time when "the intensity of the curiosity from both sides was easy to see", says Nicholas Platt, a former US ambassador to China, who was on hand to coordinate the event.

"We were just fascinated by the interest that the people in both countries expressed in each other, and the result was a lot of wonderful exchanges which continue to this day," the veteran diplomat, who is also the orchestra's senior adviser, says when recounting the historic visit to China.

It took place in September, only a few months after the US Liaison Office in Beijing was opened, "but it was one of the big highlights of that year", he adds.

If ping-pong diplomacy is what paved the way for Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972 to re-establish official ties with China, the visit by the Philadelphia Orchestra is believed to be one that helped cement it.

Platt says that it was a "smart move" for both sides to initiate exchanges even before the official relationship.

That trip was significant "on several different levels: historically, musically, and probably most importantly, diplomatically", says Davyd Booth, one of the four musicians from the first tour who is still with the orchestra today.

It was made possible by enormous joint efforts by Nixon, the renowned diplomatic figures Henry Kissinger and Platt, and Eugene Ormandy, the orchestra's music director, Booth recalls.

Renard Edwards, a viola player, remembered the first China trip as a way to help them to "broaden their horizons".

Edwards said he "was amazed that so many people were riding bicycles" on Beijing's streets.

For him, it was mind-blowing to experience famed Chinese scenic spots he had only ever seen described in books, such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

"Being very much interested in the fine arts, painting, sculpture and drawing, it was amazing to see what had been created for the royal court," says Edwards, while recounting his visit to the Forbidden City on the sidelines of the 1973 performance in China.

Twenty years after its first visit, the full orchestra returned to China in 1993, and has been expanding its collaboration with its Chinese counterparts ever since.

The orchestra enjoys a longstanding partnership with the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. In addition, it has worked with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016 in advancing cultural exchanges between the United States and China.

Booth, who has participated in about a dozen performances in China, said the orchestra's relationship with China has been one of their strongest, most continuous and longest partnerships.

The Philadelphia Orchestra announced in late January that this year it will visit China between May 16 and May 28 - the orchestra's 12th tour to China - to mark the four-decade milestone in US-China diplomatic relations.

"The relationship between the Philadelphia Orchestra and the audiences in China predates diplomatic relations, so we have a responsibility to continue to build on those connections and to make them stronger," says Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He adds that his orchestra is "always looking for the next chance for greater collaboration" with China.

The orchestra's 2019 tour will begin and end with 40th anniversary concerts and residency activities in Beijing and Shanghai.

It will also include performances in China's northern city of Tianjin, Philadelphia's sister city, before performing in Hangzhou and making its debut in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Platt says the orchestra's 40-plus years of trusted partnership with China helps to keep the people of the two countries connected.

The former US ambassador used an unusual comparison to describe the US-China relationship, saying that it "sort of resembles an iceberg" because "a huge part of it is below the water, which keeps the whole thing stable".

Xinhua