Feature: From icons to heirs: Celebrating China-Germany friendship in Frankfurt

FRANKFURT, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Klaus Schlappner became a household name overnight in China after his appearance at the Spring Festival Gala, which aired on China Central Television in 1993.

All eyes were on the German, who became the first foreign head coach of China Men's National Football Team in June 1992 and helped the team win third place in the AFC Asian Cup four months later.

Schlepper's career has since heavily focused on China. Over the years, Schlepper has contributed to organizing German-Chinese teenage football matches and setting up training schools for young players in China.

Schlappner was among nine Germans honored for contributing to Chinese-German friendship over recent decades at the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt Saturday.

Another awardee, Thomas Rabe, told Xinhua that his family's connections with China have lasted four generations since his grandfather John Rabe. John Rabe, known as "China's Oskar Schindler," helped establish the Nanking Safety Zone that sheltered approximately 200,000 Chinese civilians from slaughter and recorded Japanese troop's atrocities in his later published diaries.

Six exchange centers worldwide, two of them in Beijing and Nanjing, are now working in commemoration of John Rabe's humanitarianism to promote peace and understanding.

Thomas Rabe hopes future generations of his family will carry on the century-long friendship between Germany and China.

"My son is going to China to study for one year next year. He is willing to continue to run the John Rabe exchange centers and promote friendship between Germany and China," said Rabe.

Among the honored was also Dr. Norbert Egger, previously vice mayor of Mannheim, who noted that over a hundred pairs of German-Chinese sister states or cities provided a solid base for deepening the friendship between the two peoples.

Eyeing the future, Schlappner underlined youths as key agents in promoting the people-to-people exchange and friendship between Germany and China. It is through sports that youths from two countries become familiar with each other's culture and become good friends and potentially new ambassadors for bilateral ties, he said.

Students from Gymnasium Riedberg, a middle school in Frankfurt, are writing their German-Chinese friendship stories. For enthusiastic learners from the school's Mandarin course, a two-week journey in China has offered them an opportunity to immerse themselves in the country's culture.

"The Chinese culture which we saw with our own eyes is even more fascinating than what we have learned in books," they told Xinhua in a recent interview.