The Stanford women’s volleyball team returned last week from a 10-day trip to China that included visits to several cultural sites as well as six matches against local teams as a part of the China-USA Challenge Invitational Tournament.

After landing in Beijing on June 9, the squad traveled to Weifang in the Shandong province, where it competed in its first three-game tournament and spent the first half of the trip. Also competing were Shandong, Shandong National, Fujian and the Bring It Promotions Red and Blue teams, the United States’ two other representatives. The Cardinal dropped all three of its matches against the Chinese squads to finish last.

Stanford then returned to Beijing and fared much better in the final three contests of the trip, which included a five-set victory over Shandong in the second match, avenging a loss earlier that week. The group of returning Cardinal also made stops at the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven before returning home on June 20.

During the trip, redshirt freshman Lydia Bai received media attention due to her lineage–her mother, Jenny Lang Ping, won the gold medal with the Chinese National Team at the 1984 Olympics and later coached the team to a silver.