Khaled Sindi, 23, a student from Saudi Arabia who is learning Chinese in Beijing, had some classes to attend this week. So he could not enjoy a full week-long National Day holiday like Chinese people do.

But he will tour the outskirts of Beijing when he is free during the rest of the holiday.

Sindi is learning Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Three years ago, encouraged by his father, Sindi decided to come to China, which he knew nothing about at that time.

"I have fallen in love with this country three years later," said Sindi, who contributed his passion to his hobby of traveling. He has visited 27 cities across China over the past three years. Each year Sindi spends at least four weeks traveling.

Sindi's first outing in China took place two months after he arrived in Beijing. Sindi and several friends, none of whom could speak Chinese at the time, visited Heibei Province embracing Beijing.

"I learned from the trip that to travel in China, one must first overcome the language barrier," Sindi said.

Though majoring in economics and Chinese, Sindi is more interested in learning about China from cultural and ethnic perspectives via traveling.

What has impressed Sindi most is the hospitality of Chinese people. He recalled once in a restaurant in western China, Sindi met a stranger who came up to him asking where he was from. The Chinese man was curious when he found Sindi spoke some Chinese. He then treated Sindi to a glass of spirits, hoping to make friends. Sindi has made friends with quite a few Chinese in every city he visited.

Sindi is expected to graduate next March. He planned to write a book on China in Arabian, based on his travel journal and pictures he has taken. To enrich his book, Sindi hoped to visit southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, before graduation.

Sindi, a Muslim, believed that to traveling in China is easier than in any European or American countries.

"Dining out is a big problem when you travel in those countries, " Sindi explained.

But in China about 10 ethnic groups follow Islam, and Muslims are well catered for everywhere.

Sindi has rented a flat in Beijing and cooks by himself. He buys fresh beef and mutton in shops near his apartment.

Sindi decided that his future career should be something related to China. He is now working on his thesis about the essential impact petroleum has on Saudi Arabian-Chinese relationship.

"Traveling across China has made me believe that the two countries share many common interests," said Sindi, "and foreign students like me will serve as the tie linking the two countries."

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