Nothing had prepared the world for the startling spectacle that happened in Peking, China in April of 1971. Chinese Premier, Chou En-lai greeted the first American delegation to set foot in the ancient Chinese capital since Mao Tse-tung took control of the land 22 years earlier. After nearly two decades of hostility towards the United States, fifteen American table tennis players and three journalists had made a breakthrough of historic proportions.