On my first day in Kazakh's capital Astana I was really impressed when a stranger greeted me in Chinese by saying ni hao, hello.

I stopped to talk with the man who has lived in Kazakhstan for more than 45 years and works at a construction factory in Astana.

To my surprise the man could not speak Mandarin, English or any other foreign languages and ni hao was the only foreign words he knew.

The man said he met Chinese experts in his factory almost every day due to the increase in Chinese companies coming to Kazakhstan. He said because of this every native worker was able to say ni hao.

The man's bus arrived so our pleasant chat had to stop but the surprises continued.

My Kazakh guide told me his nephew could speak fluent Mandarin and my driver in Astana said his daughter spent six years studying in China.

"Many Kazakh universities and even high schools have established Chinese language as a main course. I'm surprised about the popularity of the Chinese language here," said former ambassador of China to Kazakhstan Zhou Li in an article in People's Daily.

In Kazakhstan there are four Confucius Institutes and Chinese has become the third language among university students after Kazakh and Russian.

According to statistics from the Education Ministry of China, there are 11,165 Kazakh studying in China, mainly in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Wuhan and Urumqi.

Students who choose Mandarin as their first foreign language find it easier to get a job after graduation, therefore the enthusiasm to study Chinese is growing among Kazakh youngsters, said Sholpan Zharkynbekova, dean of Philological Faculty of the L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University.

The former ambassador Zhou said Mandarin was the key to Chinese culture.

Aigerim Mamlina, a student from Eurasian University, agreed. Mamlina said several of her friends went to China for a semester or several months to study the language and culture.

The young Kazakh girl said China made a good impression on Kazakh people, partly because the nation helped boost Kazakhstan's economy.

I found that China and Kazakhstan's relationship goes beyond economic cooperation and language study. My Kazakh driver told me that he liked watching football matches played by Beijing Guo'an and Guangzhou Evergrande in his spare time via the Internet.

Despite the language barrier the driver was still a big fan of Chinese football, especially when Guangzhou Evergrande won the championship of the AFC Champions League.

Contact the writer at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn