BERLIN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- For Luise Maralda Senst, a German student who turns 20 next week, China is more than just an academic focus -- it's a destination and a personal aspiration.
Now in her second year of studying Sinology at the University of Hamburg, Senst decided to pursue Chinese studies in high school. "I knew early on that I wanted to study Sinology and eventually work in a field related to China. I dream of living and learning there," she told Xinhua.
Senst started learning Chinese five years ago. In 2023, she won first place in the "Chinese Bridge" -- Chinese proficiency competition for high school students in Germany. So far, she has visited southwest China's Yunnan Province three times.
"I love the rice noodles and the warm, open conversations with locals in Yunnan," she said. In 2024, Senst interned at the Yunnan Media Group in the provincial capital, Kunming.
"During my internship, I was involved in filming a documentary on traditional Chinese incense culture, and learned so much from my colleagues who belong to ethnic minority groups. Through exchanges with them, I came to truly understand why Yunnan has such distinctive ethnic diversity and also the richness and complexity of Chinese culture."
Her experience reflects an idea proposed over 300 years ago by German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who believed that Eastern and Western civilizations could learn from and enrich one another. That vision is carried forward today by the Leibniz Confucius Institute Hanover, located in the German city of Hanover, where the philosopher once lived and worked.
"Leibniz advocated openness to other cultures," said Senst. "Centuries later, I hope to contribute to that legacy by building bridges between China and Europe through my own learning."
Dr. Cai Lin, deputy director of the Leibniz Confucius Institute Hanover, said that programs hosted by the institute in recent years, such as summer camps and speech contests, have brought young Germans closer to China. "These initiatives have broadened their horizons and brought a fresh wave of youthful vitality to cultural exchanges between China and Germany," she said.
Stella Stottmeister, a German high school student from the International Gymnasium Pierre Trudeau, is one such participant. Although she is not studying at the Confucius Institute, her school maintains close cooperation with the institute and has offered Chinese language education for over a decade.
In 2024, Stottmeister visited China for the first time, a journey that impressed her greatly. She recalled being enchanted by the charm of Shanghai's Yu Garden and the Bund, the tranquil blossoms surrounding the West Lake in the southeastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, and her heartfelt conversations with Chinese artists. "Everything left me mesmerized," she said.
Stottmeister has been admitted to Tongji University in Shanghai, where she plans to pursue her undergraduate studies. "One day, I hope China can become my second home," she said. "What I look forward to most is experiencing everyday life there -- traveling, listening to people's stories, and gaining a deeper understanding of the country beyond the surface."
Cai emphasized that such experiences can be transformative. "Students don't just acquire language skills and cultural knowledge, but they begin to see the world through entirely new perspectives," she said.
Even more encouraging, Cai noted, is that many young Germans who take part in the programs initiated by the Leibniz Confucius Institute Hanover express a strong desire to share what they've learned. "They want to be storytellers of a real, open, and diverse China, and of a thoughtful, inclusive, and creative Europe."
"Their stories," Cai added, "are a living echo of Leibniz's vision, and a powerful testament to the role of dialogue in advancing human civilization."
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