CHANGSHA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Headmaster Long Jihong of China's Datong Primary School received a thank-you message from more than 8,000 km away, as the 6,500 face masks Datong donated have reached its sister school in Britain to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I have just received two more parcels of masks. Thank you," wrote Fiona Thomas, head of Lincoln Minster Preparatory School in Lincolnshire, on Wednesday.

According to Thomas, the school in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, and Lincoln Minster School were joined last November, with the two sides signing a Memorandum of Understanding to form the partnership, rolling out plans to support and learn from each other that were all postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Long reached out to Thomas in mid-April when Datong was preparing to return to school as the epidemic eases in China.

"I have been worrying about the news that the coronavirus epidemic is serious in Britain now. Please tell us if there is anything we can do to help you and your school. We will try our best and we are all in this together," read a message of Long.

Thomas soon replied, saying that due to the grim epidemic situation in Lincolnshire, the school is closed and children can only learn through online classes.

To encourage their counterparts across the ocean, Datong sent Lincoln Minster School photos of house-bound students and videos of their smiling faces, which were "very powerful," said Thomas.

On April 12, Thomas sent a message asking whether Datong could help them to buy 100 masks, as "at that time, the crisis was particularly bad and we were short of personal protective equipment in the U.K."

Datong immediately donated 500 of the school's spare masks. On April 14, a letter calling on children to donate medical masks and share their experience in fighting the epidemic was issued via Chinese social media platform WeChat, which was enthusiastically supported by all students and parents.

"In just one day, we raised more than 7,000 masks and mailed about 6,500 standard masks in batches after checking them carefully, along with supportive messages from children in drawings, letters and short videos, to help our friends fight against the common enemy of all mankind," Long said.

Teachers, parents and children also wrote encouraging words on the packages, such as "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" and "We will get through this together."

"We hope we can work hard together and help children of the two sides to face the most difficult time and get through it together," Long added.

Bao Wang, an 11-year-old fifth-grade student, bought 1,000 masks with his parents for the donation, who also emailed a hand-written drawing with anti-epidemic suggestions and cute figures, to "give some encouragement and blessings to children there."

With the help of his mother, Feng Weicheng spent three days recording an English video of more than four minutes to share some tips in combating the virus.

The video cut through different scenes, one of which recorded Feng holding a glass of water in his left hand and a large apple in his right to remind the audience to have more water and fruit. He also bounced a basketball to remind his counterparts the importance of doing exercise.

The donated masks were soon sent to local hospitals and welfare houses. "We have been absolutely overwhelmed with Datong Primary School and their incredible generosity," Thomas said.

Children from the British school expressed their appreciation via drawings, videos and letters, which were posted online and drew great attention.

"Thank you for your kind and thoughtful messages of support. I miss my friends and teachers, and I am sure you do too," said Lily Harris, a fifth-grade student at Lincoln Minster School. "Stay safe and well during this time. We will all get through this."

Calling the donation "incredible," Thomas said during an interview with the BBC that the messages from the children were also "amazing."

"I think one touched all our heart, which is 'if you have your friends in your heart, distance cannot keep you apart,'" she added.