By Caroline Dai and Anni Liu

President Xi, the third most powerful person in the world according to Forbes magazine, visited Lincoln High School on September 23.

Twenty-five Upper School student representatives, including Chinese citizens, Global Politics students, and Chinese language students, attended President Xi’s speech on The students sat in the front, three rows behind President Xi and the First Lady of China, Peng Liyuan. After 90 minutes of waiting with excitement and snapping pictures of each other, the students entered the Lincoln auditorium after going through security. Annie Wright Upper School brought significantly more students than other Tacoma schools, which brought an average of three.

Students were excited and took pictures of President Xi and Peng Liyuan’s seats prior to their arrival. Chinese III student Jasmine Kennedy said: “I am lucky that I have the opportunity to come and witness this event while learning from Chinese culture.”

WeChat, the Chinese version of Facebook, exploded with their exciting experience. “I couldn’t believe how close we were to him,” Blue Tie Senior Tracy Li said. “The tone President Xi used was friendly and comforting. The first lady looked stunning as well.”

Head of Annie Wright Schools Christian Sullivan said: “This experience was so valuable to our school.”

He went on to say how impressed he was with the Peng Liyuan’s graciousness. “When I shook hands with the First Lady of China, she stopped and made eye contact with me as if we were the only ones in the room,” he said.