WASHINGTON, August 27, 2009 (AFP) - Thirty years after becoming the first National Basketball Association club to visit China, the Washington Wizards are leaving next week for a 10-day, five-city commemorative return to China.

Basketball Hall of Fame center Wes Unseld, who played for the club then known as the Bullets when they made the trek in 1979, will be among the delegation that makes the journey September 5-15 as well.

"It's a pretty rare opportunity," Unseld said. "It was a very unique place. It was a culture we had not seen before. There weren't many people traveling to China then. I'm looking forward to seeing what has changed."

Wizards players Caron Butler and Randy Foye, several team officials, former Bullets player Gheorghe Muresan, and Chinatown businessman Tony Cheng, from the neighborhood where the Wizards' arena is located, will also make the trip.

"It's an honor," Butler said. "I want to use this trip to build some momentum, take the experience, and come back and talk about the old championship days and the legacy and then what we are trying to build."

The Wizards, who went 19-63 last season, won the 1978 NBA title and lost the 1979 final to Seattle.

Abe Pollin, who owned the club then and now, accepted the invitation of then-leader Deng Xiao Ping to visit China in 1979 and has planned the new trip with stops in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Yingxiu.

"We thought the best way to pay homage to the anniversary of our historic trip in 1979 was to return to China, because 30 years ago it was unheard of to travel overseas with an NBA team," Pollin said.

"I'm very proud that we were the first NBA team to visit China. I’m thrilled that NBA fans there will have an opportunity to re-connect with our franchise."

The delegation will take part in charity events at colleges and high schools and conduct clinics, one of them in conjunction with the China Basketball Association champion Guangdong Hongyuan.

The Wizards will also visit the resettlement town of Chengdu, where survivors from the devastating 2008 earthquake in Yingxiu have made new homes.