President Xi Jinping recently paid a state visit to Hungary, and China and Hungary issued the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and Hungary on the Establishment of an All-weather Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era. The statement pointed out that the two sides will strive to expand humanistic exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, jointly organize the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary in 2024, and continuously consolidate the friendship between the two peoples and the social foundation of bilateral relations.
Recently, the activities organized by the Budapest Chinese Cultural Center, the Chinese Department of Roland University and the Chinese Tourism Office in Budapest, located in the capital of Hungary, have effectively consolidated the roots of the friendship between China and Hungary, the humanistic exchanges between the two countries have flourished, and people-to-people exchanges have continued to deepen.
About a 10-minute walk from the quiet and spacious city park, you can see a pure white European-style classical building——this is the newly renovated Budapest Chinese Cultural Center, and when you enter it, you will find that it is full of Chinese elements, and the landscaped gardens show distinctive characteristics of Suzhou gardens.
“We adopted the concept of ‘New Chinese Style’ so that this building retains its original European style, consistent with the overall look of the street, and embedded Chinese elements in the space so that this building reflects the intermingling and mutual appreciation of Chinese and Hungarian cultures.” Jin Hao, director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Budapest, introduced. Walking up to the second-floor platform, the view of the Jiangnan courtyard is as far as the eye can see. Jin Hao said that in 2020, Budapest Chinese Cultural Center was officially registered in Hungary, “Our initial intention is to do a good job in China-Hungary cultural exchanges, and to realize the branding, localization and rejuvenation of Chinese cultural communication and exchanges through in-depth cooperation with local cultural institutions, universities and so on.”
The “Mooncake Making Workshop” was held, inviting Hungarian pastry chefs to make “Hungarian-style mooncakes” on the spot; a series of videos introducing Chinese Su embroidery and Hungarian Macchu embroidery was launched; the “Hungarian version of the yangqin”, the “Simbalon”, which plays Chinese folk music ...... China and Hungary collide and integrate with each other in exchanges and dialogues, which enhances the Hungarian people's understanding of and love for Chinese culture.
Last September, the Chinese Cultural Center in Budapest organized a visit to China for a delegation of Hungarian photographers. “China's development speed is fast, and the achievements of modernization are great.” Hungarian photographer Samodi Jörte was impressed by China's fast and convenient mobile payment, orderly urban transportation, and enthusiastic and cheerful square dance crowds, “Walking through the streets and alleys, I realized that the connotation of Chinese culture has become increasingly rich with the change of time.”
In recent years, as the cooperation and exchanges between the two countries continue to deepen, many Hungarian museums, art galleries, libraries, etc. have cooperated with the Chinese Cultural Center in Budapest, hoping to jointly promote Chinese culture. This year is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary, and the cultural center has organized and planned a series of activities. “The most important thing is to make the Hungarian people love Chinese culture more.” Jin Hao said.
The Chinese Department of the University of Hungary's Roland University is located in Building F of the university. Walking up the stairs, photos on the wall record the Chinese cultural activities that have been held here. The building is decorated with Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy, most of the signboards are written in both Hungarian and Chinese scripts, and almost all the teachers and students passing by can communicate in Chinese.
The Department of Chinese at Loránd University has a long history and celebrated its centennial in November last year. “We have witnessed the deepening cultural and educational exchanges between Hungary and China, as well as the continuous development of friendly relations between the two countries.” Hao Xinxin, vice president of ELTE University and director of the Hungarian side of the Confucius Institute, is fluent in Chinese. He was awarded the 14th Chinese Book Special Contribution Award and is a well-known Hungarian sinologist who participated in compiling the new edition of the Hungarian-Chinese Dictionary. Under his leadership, Loránd University has become not only a cradle for training bilingual Hungarian-Chinese talents, but also an important center for East Asian studies in Central and Eastern Europe.
As Chinese investment in Hungary continues to grow, there is an increasing demand for bilingual talents from Chinese companies. ELTE actively promotes the matchmaking between graduates and companies, not only by organizing job fairs to help students find jobs, but also by facilitating internships for students in companies.
In a calligraphy and painting class, Hungarian artist Horváth Janis is patiently teaching students how to practice calligraphy. In this class, he asked the students to practice the Chinese character “永”, he came to the side of the students who were tracing the character posters, explaining the key points of the strokes one by one, and demonstrating the techniques of using the brush himself.
“I was originally a type designer, but when I was young I came across Chinese characters by chance, which opened up a whole new world for me. Later I not only studied calligraphy, but also took a special course in Chinese painting in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.” Horváth said he now teaches more than 40 students a year, many of whom have been studying calligraphy for years, and that “the beauty of Chinese culture attracts a lot of the Hungarian public.” In 2022, the Confucius Institute at Loránd University published a collection of its students outstanding works of Chinese painting and calligraphy, ‘Ink and Danqing’. “These works are the culmination of the course and a symbol of the Hungarian public's love for Chinese culture.” Horváth said.
Enique Gajas is the coordinator of cultural programs at the Confucius Institute at Lorain University. Her office is decorated with various China-related souvenirs, dolls and books. “These are what we prepared for the cultural promotion activities.” Last year, the ELTE Confucius Institute organized more than 60 Chinese cultural exchange activities, ranging from lectures for dozens of students to Chinese New Year temple fairs and dragon boat fairs attended by more than 100,000 people, Eynik said.
“It is important to realize that the total population of Hungary is less than 10 million, but very many people attend the Chinese cultural events every year.” The most popular one, says Eneke proudly, is the calligraphy demonstration——many people line up to learn how to write Chinese characters, and the two calligraphy teachers are busy from morning to night. “We also invite dragon and lion dance teams or martial arts teams formed by the Hungarian public to perform, and these events are very popular.” Eneke said.
Hungary is a country with a long history and deep cultural heritage, with magnificent natural scenery and colorful human landscapes.In 2003, Hungary became China's first tourist destination country in Central and Eastern Europe. Since then, the number of Chinese travelers to Hungary has continued to grow.
In Budapest Liszt International Airport, all the signs are equipped with Chinese logos; some of the transportation vending machines in the city center also have Chinese displays for the convenience of Chinese tourists. The Hungarian Tourist Board has also launched a number of tourist routes in the hope that more Chinese tourists will explore the uniquely charming Hungarian culture through in-depth tours of the countryside outside of Budapest and regional cruises on the Danube River.
China is one of the most important source markets for the Hungarian tourism industry, said Konid, director of the Hungarian National Tourism Board. Hungary attaches great importance to cooperation with China in the field of tourism, which has become one of the key areas of cooperation between Hungary and China. “Chinese tourists recognize Hungary highly. Chinese friends are familiar with Hungarian historical figures such as Petőfi and Liszt, which adds to the reputation of Hungarian tourism.” He said that a new direct flight from Hungary to China will be launched at the end of June this year, showing the great potential of tourism cooperation between Hungary and China.
Recently, China has announced a trial visa-free policy for Hungary and other countries as well as measures to optimize payment services for foreigners coming to China, making it more convenient for Hungarians to travel to China. The China Tourism Office in Budapest, which opened in 2016, is the first tourism office set up by China in Central and Eastern Europe. Over the past eight years, the China Tourism Office in Budapest has organized colorful tourism promotion activities in Hungary, attracting more and more Hungarians to visit China. It has attracted more and more Hungarian people to go to China for a walk and have a look. Hungarian sinologist Annette, who works as a consultant at the office, said that every time the office organizes a Chinese cultural event, the participation of the people on the spot is very high.
In June last year, thousands of local people attended the “Tea for Harmony——Yaji” and the Chinese Tea Culture Theme Exhibition, which was held in Budapest for the first time. In this event, 10 Hungarian students majoring in Chinese, under the guidance of Chinese teachers, became “tea masters” at the event, not only demonstrating the tea-making process and inviting visitors to taste Chinese tea, but also introducing the stories and history behind the tea to help visitors understand Chinese culture. “Many Hungarians asked me for advice on where to buy Chinese tea and tea sets.” Liu Jie, a staff member of the Chinese Tourism Office in Budapest, said most of the participants were young Hungarians who have a strong interest in Chinese culture.
“Chinese culture has been well spread in Hungary, giving more Hungarian people the desire to visit China in person. Mutual cultural attraction gives Hungary-China tourism cooperation a broader scope for development,” Annette said.