Back in 1985 a young Xi Jinping visited the small U.S. town of Muscatine, Iowa. He stayed with a local family and met many Iowans who left a lasting impression on the man who go on to become China’s president. Xi returned to Muscatine as vice president and has kept in touch with some of the families he met.

Two Chinese businessmen recently bought the house where Xi stayed. On Thursday they opened it to the public as the Sino-U.S. Friendship House — a place where Iowans can come to learn more about China and Chinese visitors can learn more about the United States.

Daniel Wang, one of the men behind the Friendship House gave us a special advance preview. Here’s a sneak peek of our report.