Which country does Forrest Gump travel to as part of the All-American Ping-Pong Team?

Forrest Gump learned to play ping-pong while recovering from a gunshot wound in Vietnam. He quickly mastered the sport, fascinating his peers and eventually being sent to play in China on the All-American Ping-Pong Team as part of the ping-pong diplomacy program.

The ping pong paddle that helped Forrest Gump repair relations between the United States and China recently sold for a staggering $25,600, according to Outsider.

Computers were used to create so many illusions in Forrest Gump, from removing actor Gary Sinise’s legs to having Tom Hanks interact with JFK and John Lennon, that viewers may have not even noticed one of the film’s more sneakily brilliant tricks. Specifically, there is a memorable passage in the movie during which the title character’s considerable ping-pong skills make him famous during his stint in the Army. He even serves as an ambassador of sorts for his home country when he is invited to play ping-pong behind the so-called Bamboo Curtain, becoming one of “the first Americans to visit the land of China in, like, a million years.” Arbitrary as this plot twist may seem, “ping-pong diplomacy” was a very real part of Richard Nixon’s plan to establish detente with China.