From the well-known children's song "Two Tigers" to Confucius' saying "Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?"; from bringing foreign films to China to introducing Chinese cinema to the global stage; from the love of wearing hanfu to the fascination with learning Chinese... Why are these international youths so passionate about the Chinese language? And what aspects of Chinese culture attract them the most?

Recently, at the World Chinese Language Conference, young people from around the world shared their experiences of learning Chinese with China Daily. Explore this fun and challenging learning journey with us!

Part I: My Story with China  

Bembele Lucinilde Otilia       Mozambican International Student at Zhejiang Normal University

In 2017 I came to China through the Confucius Institute to participate in the Chinese Bridge competition, and then won the championship in the African group.

Stepanova Ekaterina       Russian International Student at Zhejiang Normal University

I have been learning Chinese for more than five years, and I am very intrested in Chinese culture. I learned about Hanfu because I have been to Xi'an. When I wear hanfu, I feel like a princess, a Chinese princess.

Karina Jermaka       Chinese Language Teacher at the University of Latvia

I teach Chinese at the University of Latvia. I especially like some traditional Chinese stories and traditianal Chinese festivals. So now, it has become an indispensable part of my life.

Clement Magar       French film executive

15 years ago, I graduated in Europe and came to Beijing for an internship. At that time, I started by introducing foreign films, I felt that Chinese films also want to go abroad. Every film wants to go abroad. Perhaps a long time ago, China realized that film is a great way for culture communication. I can still do this job now, because I still believe there are many excellent films.

Part II: My joruney exploring cultural exchages  

JongMay Urbonya       American social media influencer

From my experience managing my Tiktok and my Instagram accounts, I think that a lot of Americans are watching my Chinese content. So I think that it's an inspiration for me to see a lot of my followers being really into Chinese. And I hope they feel the same inspiration from my content. That's what I'm trying to do to inspire more people to study Chinese.

Bembele Lucinilde Otilia       Mozambican International Student at Zhejiang Normal University

Originally I didn't plan to keep learning Chinese, but a I studied I realized I loved the language. Now I am very willing to teach others to speak Chinese. I also feel that I can be a bridge between China and my country, and share my life experiences in China with them.

Stepanova Ekaterina       Russian International Student at Zhejiang Normal University

My undergraduate major was teaching Chinese, so actually, I want to work with children.

Karina Jermaka       Chinese Language Teacher at the University of Latvia

I love Chinese myself, so I am very happy to share my love with everyone. Many students also strat to like Chinese, and start to like Chinese culture. Many of the children I teach learn from the song "Two tigers running fast" all the way to Confucius "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?". Everyone likes it. Because Chinese culture is so rich and has such a long history，everyone can find something they like. It si that I find to be very important.

Clement Magar       French film executive

Trough emotions, whether it is hapiness, laughing or crying, being moved, they will leave you with deep memories. If a Chinese movie moves you, suddenly your impression of Chinese culture and people and the characters in the movie changes from something very unfamiliar and abstract to something very intimate. This sense of intimacy, I think, helps to create a very good shared cultural exchange environment, shared topics, and then we can communicate.

Source: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202411/27/WS6746c501a310f1265a1cfe65.html