On Aug. 18, 2024, Nguyen Quoc Tu joins the crowd welcoming To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, at Beijing Capital International Airport.

On August 18, 2024, To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, paid an official visit to China. As one of the outstanding Vietnamese students studying in China, I had the honor of attending the grand welcome ceremony at Beijing Capital International Airport and was fortunate enough to have a brief conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. From April 14 to 15, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam. Crowds of Vietnamese people lined the streets, waving the national flags of both countries to warmly welcome him.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China. As an active contributor to Vietnam-China friendship, I am committed to continuing my journey of promoting Chinese culture, passing on the cultural essence of China's 5,000-year-old civilization to my students, and further strengthening the profound "comrade-and-brother" bond between our two nations.

Cross-boundary encounter with Chinese characters

Before entering university, I had watched some classic Chinese films and TV shows — such as Journey to the West, a series widely popular in Vietnam — but it never occurred to me that I would one day end up learning Chinese.

In 2013, I was still a junior majoring in Computer Technology and Engineering at Hanoi University, Vietnam. One day, I learned that a Chinese language class had started near our campus, with the first lesson free to try. So I went along with some classmates to attend. It was a lesson on Chinese characters, where the teacher used gestures and drawings to reveal the mystery behind each character. When explaining "大" (big), he stretched out his arms to shape his body into the form of the character; for "田" (field), he sketched a neatly square plot of farmland; and for "月" (moon), he drew a bright crescent moon. It turned out that each Chinese character held such a vivid picture within it. I was immediately captivated by his lively teaching. The fee was also quite affordable — just 150 yuan (about 21 U.S. dollars) for a two-month beginner course in a small class of about 10 students. I signed up without hesitation and thus began my journey of learning Chinese.