A three-day event commemorating the era of ping-pong diplomacy that ushered in the normalization of U.S.- China relations got under way on Tuesday.

The event -- "American/Chinese Ping Pong Diplomacy: The Rematch" -- started with the arrival of American and Chinese teams for a Welcome Ceremony at Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, near Los Angeles.

The event included wreath-laying at the memorial of President and Mrs. Nixon on the grounds, and off-site tours to Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, which served as the Western White House during the Nixon Administration, said Sandy Quinn of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation.

A reception and dinner later on Tuesday will feature keynote remarks by retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, who accompanied President Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972, Quinn said.

On Wednesday, the schedule of "Fun & Games" includes an instructional Youth Clinic, matches between players of University of Southern California and University of California in Los Angeles, and a U.S./Chinese players Skills Exhibition.

Also planned is a "Challenge a Champ" competition, sightseeing in Hollywood for the Chinese visitors, and a dinner hosted by the Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles, Quinn said.

Actual competition involving American and Chinese players, including some who took part in the matches played in China in the early 1970s, will start at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. A Farewell and Awards Ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m.

Nixon's trips to China resulted from a thawing of Sino-American relations made possible by a couple of trips to China in 1971 and 1972 by the U.S. table tennis team. The genesis of those trips was a gesture of kindness by the Chinese ping-pong team during a World Table Tennis Championship in Nagoya, Japan, on April 4, 1971.

With the impending opening of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, the events of more than 30 years ago bear remembering, said Robert Nedelkoff, who has worked for the Nixon Foundation and produced a synopsis of "ping-pong diplomacy" events.