Responsibility, friendship

"I am always aware of the responsibility of bringing the Chinese culture to Vietnamese students and deepening the friendship," said Guan, the Chinese volunteer teacher.

Chinese volunteer teachers in Vietnam have grown in numbers over recent years and they are now teaching in northern and central localities aside from Hanoi and the border province of Lao Cai.

Guan's experience was a bitter-sweet story. "I was quite courageous when I decided to come as I knew not a single Vietnamese word at the time," she said.

Guan has to travel 35 km from her residence to the classroom and then back at the end of the day.

"My students prepare a bottle of drinking water for me every day and they sometimes prepare breakfast for me," she said.

Most of her students are from rural areas. They have desire for knowledge and show interest in Chinese culture. "That's why I stay," said Guan, now a fluent Vietnamese speaker, in an interview with Xinhua.

Time-tested amity

The time-tested amity between the two countries can be traced back to ancient times and leaders from both sides are determined to pass that tradition to future generations through upgrading and expanding existing mechanisms of people-to-people contact.

In April, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 15th Friendship Meeting of youth from China and Vietnam in Beijing.

Xi expressed the hope that young people of the two countries will carry on the China-Vietnam traditional friendship and contribute to strengthening mutual understanding between the two peoples and promoting bilateral cooperation.

In recent years, the two sides have intensified effort in that regard, organizing youth activities such as a Chinese language proficiency competition and speech contests in Vietnam.

In September, the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with the participation of teachers and students from 10 Vietnamese universities that have Chinese language departments.

Earlier this month, a study room on Chinese language and culture was inaugurated at Hung Vuong University where Guan teaches.

"The two countries are also witnessing frequent exchanges among universities," Culture Counselor Liu Sanzhen from the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi said, adding that two forums have been held for university presidents from the two nations.

The growth in people-to-people exchange can be seen from the issuance of visa. In 2014, nearly 2 million Chinese visitors traveled to Vietnam, while the number of Vietnamese tourists to China has also been on the rise.

With the upgrading of bilateral trade and transport linkage under the "Belt and Road" initiative, the people-to-people exchange and other ties will be further enhanced, Liu added.