![Fan Liyun (standing) and her students during a tea culture class at the Confucius Institute of the University of Miskolc, Hungary, February 13, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-05-03/A-Chinese-professor-starts-tea-culture-craze-at-a-Hungarian-university-1tigx4vyI3S/img/8d0346369482423998ef92d2d065672a/8d0346369482423998ef92d2d065672a.jpeg)
Fan Liyun (standing) and her students during a tea culture class at the Confucius Institute of the University of Miskolc, Hungary, February 13, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
In Miskolc, a northeastern city in Hungary, Fan Liyun has witnessed how a cup of tea makes a difference in cultural exchanges.
Fan, 59, currently works at the Confucius Institute of the University of Miskolc as a Chinese teacher. She observed that the institute is seeing more students who are curious about the institute’s courses this spring semester.
“We usually held activities to attract students before new semesters. But it seems it’s no longer necessary as we almost had full enrollment before this semester started,” said Fan, who was known as Kristi by her students. “I think now the number of students studying in our institute has at least doubled, compared to when I first arrived here in 2019.”
![Fan Liyun's tea-drinking utensils. /courtesy of Fan Liyun](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-05-03/A-Chinese-professor-starts-tea-culture-craze-at-a-Hungarian-university-1tigx4vyI3S/img/9f8b10494c284a0da477ccbefccf4a29/9f8b10494c284a0da477ccbefccf4a29.jpeg)
Fan Liyun’s tea-drinking utensils. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
Fan welcomes the uptick, and she was not very much surprised, as she could get some clues from the feedback of a newly-launched course focused on Chinese tea culture last year.
Last semester, Fan and her students got together once a week, making and tasting Chinese tea, and sharing stories related to tea. From jinjunmei tea to dahongpao tea, they’ve tried various kinds of Chinese tea, and her students have created interesting ways of describing the taste, such as “dark chocolate” and “chicken soup.”
Boglárka Kántor, 24, an undergraduate at the University of Miskolc joined the course last year and has learned the basics of the Chinese tea ceremony. She thinks it’s completely different from how people drink tea in Hungary.
“Now I have my favorite jasmine tea at home and sometimes invite my family and friends to come over for a cup of tea,” said Kántor.
![Fan Liyun and her students make dumplings together, at Miskolci Zrínyi Ilona Gimnázium, Hungary, February 8, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-05-03/A-Chinese-professor-starts-tea-culture-craze-at-a-Hungarian-university-1tigx4vyI3S/img/7282a4d731cd45e2850d65d1ba11a08b/7282a4d731cd45e2850d65d1ba11a08b.jpeg)
Fan Liyun and her students make dumplings together, at Miskolci Zrínyi Ilona Gimnázium, Hungary, February 8, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
Flóra Tóth, another student of Fan, said she has been drinking tea regularly ever since she started learning Chinese, which she believes gives her a fresh perspective and an immersive experience of understanding China.
“I’ve enjoyed trying out China’s most famous teas, learning how to appreciate the tea ceremony, and how to taste and identify different types of tea. It’s a beautiful experience that helps me to calm my mind,” said Tóth.
![Flóra Tóth (sitting) drinks tea with teachers from the Confucius Institute during the first](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-05-03/A-Chinese-professor-starts-tea-culture-craze-at-a-Hungarian-university-1tigx4vyI3S/img/9cd29334b4ff437c9922550b707f67d8/9cd29334b4ff437c9922550b707f67d8.png)
Flóra Tóth (sitting) drinks tea with teachers from the Confucius Institute during the first “China Day” event at the University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary, May 10, 2023. /courtesy of Flóra Tóth
What Fan presents in her tea culture class looks simple: tea, some refreshments and a bit of Chinese culture. Most of the tea that she uses is from China and she makes tea pastries herself.
“Thanks to my friends in China, I’ve collected a wide variety of Chinese tea. They gave high-quality tea as a gift after learning that I developed a course on Chinese tea culture,” said Fan.
“Pastries are easy, as long as I have some flour, butter, sugar and milk,” she said. “But still, I’m not a tea expert, so it was time-consuming to prepare tea-related stories and knowledge.”
Fan Liyun (standing) and her students during a tea culture class at the Confucius Institute of the University of Miskolc, Hungary, February 13, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
In Miskolc, a northeastern city in Hungary, Fan Liyun has witnessed how a cup of tea makes a difference in cultural exchanges.
Fan, 59, currently works at the Confucius Institute of the University of Miskolc as a Chinese teacher. She observed that the institute is seeing more students who are curious about the institute’s courses this spring semester.
“We usually held activities to attract students before new semesters. But it seems it’s no longer necessary as we almost had full enrollment before this semester started,” said Fan, who was known as Kristi by her students. “I think now the number of students studying in our institute has at least doubled, compared to when I first arrived here in 2019.”
Fan Liyun’s tea-drinking utensils. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
Fan welcomes the uptick, and she was not very much surprised, as she could get some clues from the feedback of a newly-launched course focused on Chinese tea culture last year.
Last semester, Fan and her students got together once a week, making and tasting Chinese tea, and sharing stories related to tea. From jinjunmei tea to dahongpao tea, they’ve tried various kinds of Chinese tea, and her students have created interesting ways of describing the taste, such as “dark chocolate” and “chicken soup.”
Boglárka Kántor, 24, an undergraduate at the University of Miskolc joined the course last year and has learned the basics of the Chinese tea ceremony. She thinks it’s completely different from how people drink tea in Hungary.
“Now I have my favorite jasmine tea at home and sometimes invite my family and friends to come over for a cup of tea,” said Kántor.
Fan Liyun and her students make dumplings together, at Miskolci Zrínyi Ilona Gimnázium, Hungary, February 8, 2024. /courtesy of Fan Liyun
Flóra Tóth, another student of Fan, said she has been drinking tea regularly ever since she started learning Chinese, which she believes gives her a fresh perspective and an immersive experience of understanding China.
“I’ve enjoyed trying out China’s most famous teas, learning how to appreciate the tea ceremony, and how to taste and identify different types of tea. It’s a beautiful experience that helps me to calm my mind,” said Tóth.
Flóra Tóth (sitting) drinks tea with teachers from the Confucius Institute during the first “China Day” event at the University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary, May 10, 2023. /courtesy of Flóra Tóth
What Fan presents in her tea culture class looks simple: tea, some refreshments and a bit of Chinese culture. Most of the tea that she uses is from China and she makes tea pastries herself.
“Thanks to my friends in China, I’ve collected a wide variety of Chinese tea. They gave high-quality tea as a gift after learning that I developed a course on Chinese tea culture,” said Fan.
“Pastries are easy, as long as I have some flour, butter, sugar and milk,” she said. “But still, I’m not a tea expert, so it was time-consuming to prepare tea-related stories and knowledge.”