“For me, China is more like another world than a different country,” said An Xile(Chinese name) in fluent Chinese. This young man is from Sri Lanka, and is now a junior at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics.

Before coming to Yunnan, An Xile graduated from university and was teaching Japanese at a high school. “I studied Japanese for five years and was considering applying to study at the University of Tokyo when I got a chance to learn a new language in China,” An Xile recalled. He came to Yunnan full of curiosity and expectations.

An Xile decided to learn Chinese partly because of the growing popularity of the language in his own country. “China’s economy is developing rapidly and the Chinese market is growing bigger and bigger. In recent years, China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and has increased cooperation with Sri Lanka, so there is a greater need for Chinese-speaking talents,” said An Xile.

An Xile is fascinated with Chinese culture and the colourful ethnic cultures of Yunnan province. Sri Lankan cuisine does not typically have sour flavours, while the Chinese diet has sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty tastes. An Xile loves Yunnan’s rice noodles and rice-flour cakes called erkuai, and he is a die-hard fan of the documentary series “A Bit of China.” He praises Chinese culinary culture as inclusive and wonderful.

An Xile also loves literature and the arts. When learning Japanese, he read The Izu Dancer by Yasunari Kawabata. Now a student of Chinese, he has fallen in love with the books Teahouse by Lao She, Life by Lu Yao and Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin.

Influenced by his grandmother, a Sri Lankan dancer, An Xile is also good at dancing. During one competition he took part in, the famous dancer Yang Liping gave him instructions and taught him her trademark peacock dance. Recalling the experience, An Xile was excited and regretful as well. “Not until I watched Dynamic Yunnan—a song and dance drama—did I realize what a great dancer she is.”

Studying in Yunnan province, An Xile has left his footprints in different fields and harvested both delight and happiness. When asked about his future plans, he said with a smile, “I hope to stay longer to study for my master’s and doctoral degrees. I want to discover a more multifaceted China.”