"Every time these violent attacks happened, I kept telling myself the probability of such events is small, and it won't happen to me. And I felt so angry about the brutality, and targeting of innocent people. They cross the line of being human," Yin said.
But Yin said that, as a Chinese student, the only thing he can do is avoid crowds and stay in more. "If we can't change this chaos, we can only try to adapt to it. Life needs to go on."
Li Mao, who was studying at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, told the Global Times that with each new attack and incident, he felt that the violence was getting closer to the country and city where he lives.
The concerns eventually came true in March. "I immediately was getting messages from family and friends in China, since I lived in a small town not far from Brussels. And I have to tell them all I'm fine," Li recalled.
The small town where Li lived kept on high alert for a while afterward, becoming the main topic among Li and his friends.
Last month, Li's parents visited him in Belgium. For precaution, Li rearranged their travel routes to avoid going through places that were recently attacked. Despite that, tightened security measures along the way left a deep impression.
Li plans to return this September.
"I'm about to go back to China, and I really hope Europe can restore its peace soon," Li said.
Business going down
Last month a 17-year-old Afghan migrant armed with an ax and a knife attacked passengers aboard a regional train in southern Germany, injuring four people from Hong Kong before he was shot dead by police.
The frequent terror attacks are having a cooling effect on travel to Europe, home of dozens of popular tourist destinations.
Shen Zhihua, a Chinese tour guide who has been working in Nice over the past five years, told the Global Times that the attacks had struck European tourism and related industries, and he says that will shake investors' faith in the eurozone's economic outlook.
According to media reports, Barclays' analysts said tourism revenue in the first half of this year for France, Germany and Italy has dropped 17.6 percent, 18.2 percent and 18.9 percent.
Year-on-year total revenue from visitors to Europe from China, the continent's main source of tourists, have shrunk by 25 percent.
Local media in France, Germany and Belgium reported that guided tours in Paris and other European destinations where terrorists have attacked have seen a drop in visitors.
Many Chinese tourists are choosing alternatives in Eastern Europe or Nordic areas instead of Western Europe.
Uncertain future
Will such attacks rise in frequency? This is probably the most-asked question haunting people living in Europe now.
According to police investigations and media reports, many attackers share some common features: they were mostly Muslims born and raised in Europe, with some refugees from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places; many of them had psychiatric records and were radicalized by extremist organizations like ISIS; they carefully planned and executed their attacks, even the lone wolves.
But what is even more worrying is that, as the situation gets worse and governments fail to provide effective counter-measures, public opinion may shift from having sympathy for Muslim refugees and immigrants to fear.
In some countries, voices are already rising against Muslims and immigrants. With only 10 months from presidential elections in France and Germany, far-right populism may take advantage of the public's anger and fear to further divide people, which might cause more violent incidents.
"What worried us most is European governments' lack of effective solutions to lead countries out of the crisis," Zhang Lei said.
"I have to admit, for some time, whether I should stay here or go back to China has become a serious question to me. I mean, when people in China now are fighting for better opportunities and development, we are fighting simply to live. This is ironic," Zhang said.
According to Pew Research Center, Muslim immigrants have become Europe's largest and fastest-growing immigrant group. There are nearly 60 million Muslims living in the continent, mainly in Western Europe, accounting for about 8 percent of Europe's total population. France (4.7 million), Germany (4.7 million) and the UK (2.9 million) have the biggest Muslim populations, while France (7.5 percent), the Netherlands (6 percent), Belgium (5.9 percent), and Germany (5.8 percent) have the highest proportions.
The increasing frequency of terror attacks has given rise to more protests against Muslims on streets across Europe. Some experts say that the relationship between Muslims and European society has come to a crossroads.
Shada Islam, policy director at Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, told the Global Times that Europe should be aware that this is a matter not only due to external factors such as the rise of ISIS, but is also caused by internal problems rooted in European society.
"Those who were in extreme despair then discriminated and abandoned by Western mainstream society were brainwashed by ISIS by pouring hatred into them; these people have evolved into the 'holy war' suicide attackers. The whole of European society should be held accountable, and not blame the Muslim community alone," she said.
