Feature: French writer's 20-year dedication to promoting China-France cultural exchanges

PARIS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- For Christine Cayol, a French writer dedicated to fostering China-France cultural exchanges for nearly two decades, her encounter with China and the Chinese culture was "predestined," akin to Yuanfen.

The romance started with a love story in 2002 when Cayol followed her fiance, who was sent to work in China. They then got married in China and lived in a hutong in Beijing.

"You know, the country where you get married, you also marry it a little bit," Cayol told Xinhua. "Since the first day when I arrived in Beijing, I have felt the power of the Chinese people to sing, to laugh and to love life."

It was nothing like what she had been told about China before coming to this country. "You should always go and see what is happening in reality," she said. For her, "if you want to talk about China, then go to China."

She started to learn Mandarin in Beijing, and explore China by talking with farmers, workers, academics and artists. With her understanding of the Chinese people and culture, she has already written multiple books that are considered cultural bridges between the French and the Chinese people.

"When you are young, and you have been to China, it would leave a mark throughout your whole life," Cayol told Xinhua. "When I arrived in China, I was quite surprised and very destabilized, but at the same time delighted of being able to learn lots of things."

In 2009, Cayol founded the association Yishu8 in Beijing to foster cultural exchanges between French and Chinese artists.

The Yishu8 initiative grants award-winning artists from France and China the opportunity to reside in the counterpart's capital, providing them with a platform to draw inspiration from the local artistic milieu and immerse themselves in the cultural lifestyle of the host country.

"We have forged a friendship through art. These are the friendships between artists, but also friendships with the Chinese civilization. It's a courier of peace, a courier of harmony and a courier of future," she said.

In 2013, Cayol was honored with the Legion of Honor at the French Embassy in Beijing by Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister, for her exceptional contribution to China-France cultural exchanges.

Asked about the role of cultural exchanges in China-France relations, Cayol said diplomatic relations are "the roof of the house," but within the house, there should be encounters between people like artists, business leaders or students. "It's these human relationships that make it possible to forge real ties" between the two countries, she told Xinhua.

The year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and also the 22nd year of Cayol's efforts to connect France and China through culture.

"I believe that in the future, it is necessary for both the French side and the Chinese side to maintain a mutual curiosity," she said.