This photo taken in April 2025 shows Azerbaijani youth Ravanov Eldar, known in China as He Yan, competing in a regional preliminary round of the storytelling contest of the 2025 "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreigners across the Globe, in north China's Tianjin. (Xinhua)

TIANJIN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- In Azerbaijani, "fire" embodies the spirit of the land, while the Chinese character for fire, Yan, evokes dancing flames. For Ravanov Eldar, known in China as He Yan, the name bridges two worlds by carrying a spark from the Caspian Sea to north China's Haihe River and igniting a passion that now reaches even further.

This July, the 17-year-old from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, completed a yearlong Chinese language program at Tianjin University. "This is where my journey with China truly began," He said.

His Chinese name was a gift from his Chinese teacher in Azerbaijan. "My teacher said I am a quick learner, and there's a light in my eyes," he recalled with a smile.

He's upbringing was steeped in cross-cultural exchange. His mother, a journalist, taught him the power of narrative; his father, an international oil trader, offered a practical, global outlook.

The family lived in Russia for four years during his early childhood, and he attended first grade in Iraq before returning to Azerbaijan.

These formative experiences made him comfortable in multiple languages, with Azerbaijani and Russian as native tongues, English for academic pursuits, and later self-taught Mandarin along with a sprinkle of Spanish. This multilingual foundation not only opened windows to the world but also paved his path to China.

In 2022, encouraged by his father, he began learning Chinese. "Azerbaijan is an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative. As trade between our countries grows, my father believed mastering Chinese would help me engage more deeply with China's future," he explained.

Starting with online tutorials and HSK (Chinese language level test) Level 1 materials, he struggled through six months of independent study. "It was really challenging. I felt like I was barely keeping up," he admitted.

Seeing his determination, his father found the Confucius Institute at Baku State University just half an hour's drive from home. From then on, attending Chinese classes after school became routine, and his skills began to flourish.

A pivotal moment came in 2023, when He won third place in the Azerbaijani "Chinese Bridge" competition, earning a summer camp trip to China. There, at Anhui University in east China, he immersed himself in Chinese history and culture.

As he reminisced, one memory stood out vividly, practicing the notoriously complex character "biang" in a calligraphy class. "Even many Chinese people can't write it," he said proudly. "I broke it down stroke by stroke until I could write it smoothly. That experience gave me so much confidence."

He also climbed Huangshan Mountain, where the poetic phrase "all other peaks pale in sight" came alive amid the sea of clouds. In Shanghai, he wandered between the historic Bund and soaring skyscrapers.

"After returning to Baku, China was no longer just a concept on a map. It had become real, vivid and personal," he said.

In September 2024, He arrived alone in Tianjin, becoming the youngest international student at Tianjin University that year. Over the next 12 months, he threw himself into more than 20 campus events, from hosting New Year celebrations and performing in "Chinese Bridge" dubbing contests to drafting speeches rich with classical Chinese proverbs.

"One of my favorite sayings is, 'A sharp sword comes from grinding; plum blossoms bloom through bitter cold,'" he said. "Repeating and reflecting on these words not only improved my Chinese but also gave me strength."

In April 2025, China and Azerbaijan signed a mutual visa-waiver agreement for ordinary passport holders. "This policy is a bridge for more exchange," he said. "I believe more young Azerbaijanis will come to study in China, and I warmly invite Chinese friends to visit my homeland as well."

Now a freshman pursuing electronic information engineering at the University of Science and Technology of China, He envisions a future where digital technology and energy innovation meet. He hopes to build connections between Azerbaijan's oil and gas resources, Caspian wind energy, and China's manufacturing and computing power through the language of algorithms and circuits.

"I want to tell stories in Chinese," he said. "And use technology to solve real-world problems." ■

This photo taken in June 2025 shows Azerbaijani youth Ravanov Eldar, known in China as He Yan, participating in a herbal sachet making activity at Tianjin University in north China's Tianjin. (Xinhua)