Love of Chinese films, TV series motivates Vietnam youngsters to learn Chinese

Asking for her recommendations, Anh's friends are now excited to register for Chinese courses.

Hanoi's crowded Chua Lang Street, where at least three universities are situated nearby, includes a small-size language teaching Chinese Communication Center (3C).

Nghiem Thuy Trang, 30, owner of 3C, told Xinhua that it is the second branch she had opened, after the first one's debut last year. Due to increasing demand of Vietnamese people wanting to learn Chinese, her new facility in Chua Lang Street welcomes some 30 new students per month, which is a stable rise amid rampant online promotions of other centers.

Feeling imparted by the films and their idols are among the greatest hooks luring youngsters to Chinese studying places. "Young people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s come to us because they are fond of Chinese dramas and movies. They want to see the films without waiting for the subtitles and dream one day they can talk to their Chinese idols," Trang explained.

Even Trang herself said she shared a love for the China's Princess Returning Pearl, which is a phenomenally popular childhood series of any Vietnamese girls of Trang's generation. "It means a lot to me, enough to send me to China to study and become a Chinese teacher as I've become now," she expressed.

Not only preparing books, Trang equips the 3C places with samples representing Chinese culture such as Zithers, paper-cutting and engages her students in tea ceremonies.

"Passions for one type of culture, films for instance, will stimulate demand for further explorations," Trang said of her own experience, which she applied to her teaching work.

Apart from the online uploads that enrapture Vietnamese youngsters, the screening of Chinese films on television channels are also witnessing improved influence.

According to an unnamed representative from the Saigon Tourist Cable Television (SCTV), purchases of Chinese films by Vietnamese companies have increased in the past years.

More channels launched recently amid limited production capacity of local agents, makes Chinese films an economic choice for local TV companies, said the representative.

"Chinese films are offered at better prices than Korean ones. Many genres like dramas, historical or real life investigations, are familiar to Vietnamese due to cultural similarities," he told Xinhua.