The students from Hangzhou were also warmly received in France, including being invited to the Nice City Hall in 2019, thanks to the sister-city relations between Nice and Hangzhou.

While the pandemic affected educational exchanges with China, Claris said her school has received great support from the Confucius Institute Cote d'Azur.

"I'm so grateful. In the last three years, the Confucius Institute has come to our school to hold various Chinese cultural events and achieved great success. Students like them very much," she said, citing events such as Peking Opera facial makeup workshops and Chinese cultural contests.

Wang Yan, head of the Confucius Institute Cote d'Azur, said that in addition to language classes, the institute has been organizing events at local schools to foster students' understanding and appreciation for Chinese culture.

"The French are very interested in China," she said.

At a recent event in Nice, Paris-based Chinese tea culture expert Zhang Le captivated locals of all ages with her insights into this age-old tradition.

Yann Gravot, a laboratory worker from the University of Cote d'Azur, said he learned a lot about the different types of tea.

"Sometimes I do this tea ceremony at home, (but) may not be as beautiful (as hers)," he said.