But the connections forged during the visit went beyond cultural experience. Li Hongyang, a student from Guatemala studying at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, told the group that a friend runs an instrument shop back home. After visiting the Oves factory and witnessing the quality and scale of production, he left with the company's contact details, hoping to connect them with his friend.

"The instruments here are of very high quality, and with such scaled production, I believe they would be highly cost-effective," he said. "I want to recommend this to my friends back home."

During an interactive session, local musicians performed Chinese and Western classics like Joyful and Click Go the Shears, using instruments made right there in the town. An Italian teacher from Tianjin Foreign Studies University performed a song in Italian and students from Tianjin University sang Falling Leaves Returning to the Roots, drawing the audience into a spontaneous sing-along.

British academician Robert Mark Ellam, chair professor at Tianjin University's School of Earth System Science, joined the trip. "What you read in the newspapers or see on television does not always give an accurate picture of places like Tianjin, or China more broadly," he said. "The best way to understand it is to come here and experience it for yourself."

Jinghai district is also preparing for major sports events later this year — including the Tuanbo Lake Half Marathon and a road cycling race — blending music, sports, and smart health into a distinctive cultural and industrial package.

Ma Yucong and Li Yuheng contributed to this story.