Fire ignites a pathway to China

TIANJIN — In Azerbaijani, fire embodies the spirit of the land, while the Chinese character for fire, yan, evokes dancing flames. For Ravanov Eldar, his Chinese name, He Yan, bridges two worlds by carrying a spark from the Caspian Sea to North China's Haihe River, igniting a passion that now reaches even further.

In 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 says.

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 recalls with a smile.

His upbringing was saturated 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 the first grade in Iraq before returning to Azerbaijan.

These formative experiences made him comfortable with multiple languages: Azerbaijani and Russian as his native languages, 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 says.

Starting with online tutorials and HSK (Chinese proficiency 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 admits.

Seeing his determination, his father found the Confucius Institute at Baku State University just a half-hour drive from home. From then on, attending Chinese classes after school became routine, and his language skills flourished.

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

As he reminisces, one memory vividly stands out: practicing the notoriously complex character "biang" in a calligraphy class. "Many Chinese people can't even write it," he says 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 historical 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 says.

In September 2024, He arrived alone in Tianjin, becoming the youngest international student at Tianjin University that year. Over the next 12 months, he attended 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 says. "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 says. "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's wind energy, and China's manufacturing and computing power through the language of algorithms and circuits.

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