In October 2009, during his visit to Hungary, then Vice President Xi Jinping visited the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School.
"Uncle Xi, hello!" Students write welcome messages in Chinese on the blackboard.
During the visit, Xi Jinping Yin Yin sent a message: "Ten years of trees, a hundred years of people." ”
Since then, Xi Jinping has forged a friendship with the teachers and students here.
Situated on the banks of the romantic Danube, the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School is the first public full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe to teach in Chinese and the Chinese language of its own country, and this year marks its 20th anniversary.
This is the gate of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School (photo taken on May 3, 2024).
A painting of a child with the words "China-Hungary Friendship" posted on the wall of a classroom at the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School (photo taken on May 3, 2024).
At the beginning of the school's establishment, most of the students came from Chinese families who worked and lived in Hungary. Today, the school has expanded to 12 grades, 20 classes, and more than 500 students, most of whom are native Hungarian speakers. Students not only have Chinese language classes, but also painting, music, and computer classes are taught in Chinese.
Teachers at the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School instruct students in learning calligraphy (photo taken on February 24, 2023).
Nguyen Van Anh, a teacher at the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, gives a Chinese lesson to a third-grade child (photo taken on May 3, 2024).
Bao Yi, a third-grade student at the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, shows off her art work of giant panda image on May 3, 2024.
Students rehearse before the graduation ceremony of the 12th grade of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School (photo taken on May 3, 2024).
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2023, Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, students of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, sent a letter to President Xi Jinping and his wife Professor Peng Liyuan on behalf of all the students, telling the New Year according to Chinese customs, talking about their feelings of studying Chinese in school for 12 years, and expressing their desire to come to China to study at universities and contribute to Hungarian-Chinese friendship.
In his reply, President Xi Jinping encouraged Hungarian young people to learn more about China and become ambassadors for the inheritance and development of China-Hungary friendship. This sincere reply letter made the teachers and students of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School feel warm and encouraged.
After receiving the reply, Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao said that the letter would encourage them to continue to work hard to learn Chinese well, and hoped that one day their dreams would come true, and that they would become envoys for inheriting and developing the cause of friendship between Hungary and China, and that they would make a contribution to the friendship between the two countries.
Hu Lingyue (left) and Song Zhixiao, students of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, are interviewed by Xinhua News Agency in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on February 7, 2023.
With long-term hard work, the seeds of dreams bloom. Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao will be admitted to the School of International Culture of Capital Normal University in 2023.
Hu Lingyue (right) and Song Zhixiao pose for a photo at the Capital Normal University in Beijing (April 2024).
Hu Lingyue eats in the cafeteria at Capital Normal University in Beijing on April 28, 2024.
Song Zhixiao (first from left) and Hu Lingyue (center) walk and chat with classmates on the campus of Capital Normal University in Beijing on April 28, 2024.
Song Zhixiao (second from left) communicates with classmates on the campus of Capital Normal University in Beijing (photo taken on April 28, 2024).
At present, they are studying in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages, and their dream is to become teachers after completing their studies, "telling Chinese stories and culture to Hungarian students" and "being ambassadors of the cause of Hungarian-Chinese friendship with warmth".
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in learning Chinese and understanding Chinese culture.
This lion dance was filmed during the 15th anniversary celebration of the ELTE Confucius Institute in Budapest, Hungary, on June 21, 2022. At present, there are five Confucius Institutes in Hungary.
On August 29, 2023, guests experienced Chinese calligraphy at the "Beauty and Commonality: Chinese Hungarian Poetry Recital" and "Chinese Characters and Chinese Civilization" exhibition in Budapest, Hungary.
A girl experiences a dragon dance at a Chinese New Year temple fair in Chinatown, Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 3, 2024.
People take a group photo at the "4th Hungarian Mooncake Workshop" at the Krčej Cultural Center in Debrecen, Hungary, September 3, 2023. At the event, more than 500 local citizens gathered to make Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes and experience traditional Chinese culture.
In the future, more "envoys of China-Hungary friendship" will continue to contribute to the inheritance and promotion of friendship between the two countries.
Photography: Zhao Dingzhe, Peng Ziyang, Lian Yi, Chen Hao, Deng Yaomin, Verti Otilo