Strong business links between Hungary and China have prompted an increased interest in Mandarin. A school in Budapest is fueling this interest by being the first bilingual school in Eastern Europe. #ChinaEurope2024
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00:00 From decorations to the school's special tea room.
00:03 While this school is thousands of miles away from China,
00:07 it could be mistaken for any from Beijing to Guangdong.
00:10 Here, young people learn to speak Mandarin
00:13 with some graduates going on to study in China.
00:16 I didn't believe it.
00:18 I still don't believe it because this university is
00:23 one of the top universities in the whole world.
00:27 I think I'm going to realize that I actually study in Beijing
00:31 when I arrive at Beijing.
00:33 Located just 15 minutes from the center of the Hungarian capital,
00:37 this Budapest school is unique.
00:40 It's the only bilingual school in Central and Eastern Europe
00:44 teaching in Mandarin and Hungarian.
00:47 When it first opened its doors in 2004,
00:49 the school was mostly targeted at the Chinese diaspora.
00:53 20 years later, 7 out of the 10 students are Hungarian.
00:58 Since I have been learning this language for 12 years now,
01:02 it has become my second native language.
01:06 So I sometimes think in Chinese.
01:10 And those language skills are useful,
01:13 especially as trade between Hungary and China
01:16 continues to increase.
01:19 Many of these students will go and work with Chinese companies
01:23 while others will go and study there.
01:27 It was a dream come true.
01:28 And now it's going to come true.
01:32 In the coming year, 10 students will study in China.
01:37 I hope they will find their place there.
01:40 And the language skills they have acquired over the years
01:44 will be enough to get a job in this language.
01:53 Over 10 years ago, Hungary was one of the first countries
01:57 in the European Union to sign a Memorandum of Understanding
02:01 joining China's massive infrastructure program,
02:05 the Belt and Road Initiative.
02:07 It's given rise to projects such as the Budapest to Belgrade
02:11 Railway.
02:12 Now, with more than half of the country's foreign investments
02:15 coming from China, interest and student enrollment
02:19 in this bilingual school has never been higher.
02:23 Evangelos Ypsas for CGTN, Budapest.