President Xi's special bond with Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school

On May 8, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Budapest, capital of Hungary, for a state visit to the country at the invitation of Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest enjoys a special bond with Xi. Founded in 2004, it is the first full-time public school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese as well as the local language for instruction.

Second-grade students take a Chinese language class at the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest, Hungary. (People's Daily/Yi Lin)

Today, a group photo of Xi and the school's students and teachers, as well as Xi's reply letter to the students in early 2023 still hangs on the wall in the school's hallway.

In October 2009, Xi, then Chinese vice president, visited the school during his visit to Hungary. Xi encouraged the school to focus on the future, lay a solid foundation, and cultivate more successors for the cause of the China-Hungary friendship.

Varga Bonita (1st R) and Imre Tamara (2nd R), two Hungarian students whose Chinese names are Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, receive gifts from the Chinese Embassy in Hungary at the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

In early 2023, President Xi replied to a letter from the students of the school, in which he encouraged them to study in Chinese universities after graduation from high school. He expressed the hope that more and more Hungarian youths would love and study the Chinese language, learn more about today's China as well as its history and culture, and strive to become envoys to carry forward and develop the China-Hungary friendship.

For nearly two decades, the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school has built a bridge of friendship between China and Hungary. It has nurtured batches of students who are familiar with and love Chinese culture, many of whom have been admitted to Chinese colleges and universities.

Students practice martial arts at the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

A Chinese teacher instructs students on Chinese calligraphy at the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)