Founded over a century ago, Kyrgyz National University in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is renowned for hosting one of Central Asia's largest Chinese culture and language institutions, the Kyrgyz-Chinese Institute. This institute has graduated thousands of students from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, and beyond, who come to learn Chinese language and culture, earning bachelor's, master's, and even PhD degrees. During a recent campus tour, we met a number of students there with fascinating stories about their personal connections to China.