Luanda in March is humid and stuffy. But a two-story white small building within the University of Netu in Angola is particularly eye-catching, which is the location of the Confucius Institute at Netu University. Entering the small building, the students echoed through the hallway with their loud Chinese pronunciation, echoing throughout the entire space.

This is a foundational course for beginners in Chinese. In the classroom, Sun Yun, a teacher at the Confucius Institute of Neitu University, is leading his students to learn Chinese dialogues. As she read and demonstrated, she pointed to the water cup on the table and asked, "What is on the table?" Then she guided the students to answer, "There is a water cup on the table." In this way, she helped Angolan students better understand the content of Chinese conversations.

They have only been studying for just three months, but they are now able to practice dialogue with their desk mates based on the textbook content. Sun Yun said proudly. She is responsible for teaching three classes with over 100 students, including both current students from Netu University and high school students from other universities.

Their enthusiasm for learning is very high, and they even spontaneously practice Chinese outside of class. Sun Yun explained that the reason why students are so invested is partly because of their interest in Chinese, and partly because they know that learning Chinese well can open the door for them to work in Chinese funded enterprises in An, which is the opportunity they have been dreaming of.

Angolan youth Ra ú l Carvalho deeply feels this. He firmly believes that learning Chinese well can lead to good job opportunities, so he prefers reporters to call him by his Chinese name - Ang Lee.

In 2017, while still studying civil engineering at Neitu University, Ang Lee stumbled upon the online notice of the Confucius Institute's course opening, and without hesitation, he chose to register. It is not easy to find an ideal job in Angola, so I have made up my mind to learn Chinese, hoping that it will be helpful for my future career.

After unremitting efforts, Li An finally received a scholarship to study Chinese at Harbin Normal University in 2018.

Recalling his days in China, Ang Lee had a smile on his face. After every class, I would walk out of the school gate and chat with the chess player and the restaurant owner. Although I speak Chinese a bit slowly, they are always patient and teach me authentic Chinese expressions.

In just one year, this Angolan youth not only experienced the convenience of high-speed rail in China and strolled through bustling night markets, but also fell in love with the fun of online shopping. With the recommendation of Chinese friends, Ang Lee tasted various Chinese delicacies and gradually developed a "Chinese stomach". He smiled and said, "Although the winter in Harbin is cold, the people there are very warm and friendly."

In 2022, with outstanding performance, Ang Lee successfully passed the selection and became a project assistant and translator for China Energy Construction Gezhouba Group Angola Company. In this position, he can not only leverage his expertise in civil engineering, but also further improve his Chinese proficiency in his work. Now, Ang Lee is actively teaching his 18-year-old sister to learn Chinese, hoping that she can also find an ideal job by mastering Chinese like herself.

Li An's growth experience is actually a microcosm of thousands of Chinese language learners in Angola. Since the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Neitu University in 2015, it has trained over 2000 students. Zhao Yufeng, the Chinese president of the Confucius Institute at Netu University, said that under the promotion of the the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Angola are increasingly close in cooperation, and both sides attach great importance to language and cultural exchanges.

"At present, we have launched language and cultural cooperation projects with multiple government departments and universities in Angola, aiming to build a better platform for communication and cooperation between the two countries," said Zhao Yufeng. Through these collaborative projects, Chinese education has been widely promoted in Angola, laying a solid foundation for friendly cooperation between the two countries.Editor/Wang Tian