When asked to make a sentence with haishi, which literally translates as "had better" in her class at Gumilyov Eurasian National University Confucius Institute, Fariza Sagyndykova, a 17-year-old high school student, said in fluent Chinese: "If you want to know more about Chinese culture, you had better go to China in person".

The sentence came from her own experience. As the champion of the 2010 "Chinese Bridge" competition held in Kazakhstan, she gained a Confucius Institute scholarship to study at Xi'an International Studies University in northwestern China's Shaanxi province from June 2010 to June 2011.

China's rapid economic development over the last three decades has attracted many Kazakh young people to study in China or work for big Chinese companies, according to Yuan Mingsha, one of Chinese teachers at the institute.

(Source: Xinhua)