Pilar de Borbon from Argentina is studying Chinese Linguistics as a postgraduate in Beijing Language and Culture University. (Photo provided to China.org.cn)
When a traditional Chinese medicine class was offered at a school in Pilar de Borbon's neighborhood in Mendoza, Argentina, more than 10 years ago, her mother, out of curiosity, enrolled and began to learn Chinese, taking the then-17-year-old de Borbon with her. Since then, de Borbon kept on learning Chinese, and it eventually landed her a Chinese government-backed scholarship to study in China.
De Borbon is one of an increasing number of foreigners coming to China to study. According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 440,000 international students came to China in 2016, increasing 35 percent from 2012. Roughly one third of them came here to learn the Chinese language.
"Learning Chinese can be hard for me sometimes, but I like to face up to the difficulties and enjoy the sense of fulfillment," de Borbon said.
In 2008, de Borbon participated in the Chinese Bridge, a Chinese proficiency competition for international students sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), and placed runner-up in Argentina. The prize included a Confucius Institute scholarship issued by Hanban. According to Hanban, from its first session in 2002 to the 15th last year, the annual competition had welcomed over 2,500 university students from over 110 countries around the world to China for intermediary contests and finals.
"Without the scholarship, I would not have thought about studying in China, a country so far away from Argentina in my mind," de Borbon said in fluent Chinese.
Studying Chinese for more than 10 years now, she also learned much about Chinese customs and etiquette. "You cannot give an alarm clock as a birthday gift," she said.
"Now I can say I am a bilingual, and my study of Chinese will be of great help to my career in the future." The 29-year-old said she wanted to engage in jobs related to bilateral relations between China and Argentina. "I hope to do my bit for our bilateral communication with what I have learnt," she said.
'Learning Chinese becomes my lifestyle'
Like de Borbon, Darrell Day, a 23-year-old American, first began learning Chinese as a way of challenging himself. "I like challenges, so when my friend told me not to study Chinese as it is too difficult, I insisted," Day said.
After four years of learning Chinese as a dual major at Brigham Young University, he came to China to continue learning Chinese at Nanjing University.
Now, after graduation, Day is interning at a workshop of a calligraphy master in Nanjing. He came to Beijing recently to record a TV show about Chinese poems.
Chinese poems, both ancient and modern, are Day's favorite. "Xin Yuan Di Zi Pian," a line by an ancient Chinese poet Tao Yuanming, which talks about the importance of having a stable and unique personal mindset, has always inspired him.
"It teaches me that it is important to hold true to your own principles in life even if you think differently from other people," he said. "As long as you know who you are, you will be happy. Sometimes I find what I think and choose is different from those around me in one way or another, but this poem always reminds me to stay real to myself."
Day said learning Chinese has become a lifestyle. "I cannot imagine there is one day in my life that I do not study Chinese. It has become a habit of mine."
Day is an avid user of Chinese social media platform WeChat, where he keeps posting about his life in China, and sometimes he would post Chinese essays he writes that read like they are written by a native Chinese. He plans to continue studying Chinese literature at Peking University next year.
'More benefits to come from the Belt and Road Initiative'
Aspiring millennials are not the only group coming to China to learn Chinese; working professionals are joining the trend as well. Ibrahim Elmansy, a tour guide and traffic manager at one of Egypt's biggest travel companies, is in Beijing to take a three-month summer course in the Chinese language.
"Egypt has vigorous tourism, and a considerable amount of tourists there are Chinese, so Chinese is essential in our communication with Chinese tourists," Elmansy said.
Many universities in Egypt offer Chinese classes, and there are two Confucius Institutes in Egypt, so it is easy to find some place to study Chinese in Egypt, especially in Cairo.
But Elmansy said learning Chinese in China is a very different experience. "I knew about China from my Chinese teacher in Egypt. This country with long history and profound culture, just like Egypt, is growing rapidly," he said. "Now I can see it for myself in China. I can also make many Chinese friends here, who are very kind and always willing to help. I enjoy talking with them, face to face or on WeChat."
Elmansy said he was impressed with the changes rapidly taking place in China. He took the popular Chinese mobile application WeChat as an example. "Things are very different from three or four years ago when I first came to China, and now I do not need to take any cash with me around at all. With the mobile phone, you can pay everything here: the taxi, the bicycle and the food. To buy something, you can just show the QR code on your WeChat. It is very convenient."
Elmansy said he was also fascinated with China's massive Belt and Road Initiative proposed to increase connectivity and cooperation with the rest of the world. He said he looks forwards to the initiative's effects on the tourism industry. "Egypt is one of the many countries along the Belt and Road. This ambitious project is good for not only China, but surely for other countries. More benefits are yet to come, and let us see," he said.
