CHONGQING－"Ciao! Ciao! Buongiorno!" Students from a primary school in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality warmly greeted their Italian teacher, Lorenzo Buttarello.

After spending eight years in China, Buttarello, 33, originally from Varese in Italy, has completely integrated into the local life of Chongqing. Two years ago, a video of him speaking fluently in the Chongqing dialect at his graduation ceremony went viral online.

At the recommendation of a teacher at a Confucius Institute in Italy, Buttarello was admitted to Chongqing University in 2014. Since then, he has made a lot of friends and developed a deep love for the city.

Chongqing, known as the "mountain city" for its hilly landscape, is famous for spicy food such as hotpot.

In the eyes of Buttarello, Chongqing is a city "full of warmth" with spicy food and hospitable people, which reminds him of places in southern Italy.

After graduation, he became an Italian language teacher at Chongqing Renmin Primary School.

Over the years, Buttarello has been proud to witness the rapid changes in Chongqing and the growing ties between the Chinese city and Italy.

"As this inland city in western China opens up wider, a greater number of Italians have chosen to live and work here," he says.

"Italian food can be found everywhere," he says. There are a number of restaurants offering Italian food in Chongqing, some of which is cooked by Italian chefs. People in Chongqing can even enjoy authentic Italian gelato, he says.

With the deepening of cultural exchange, the Italian language has also been gaining popularity in Chongqing.

Buttarello says that, in the past, only some universities in the city offered Italian courses, while now there are off-campus Italian training institutions and some primary schools have elective Italian courses.

The primary school where Buttarello works cooperated with local foreign affairs agencies to launch an Italian language and culture course in 2015. So far, over 10,000 students have joined the course.

Buttarello says that, with the spread of the Italian language, he believes more Chinese people will contribute to enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries.

In 2013, Italy opened its consulate general in Chongqing, and a large number of economic and trade exchanges have been launched ever since.

In March 2018, the China-Italy Bilateral Investment Promotion Center was jointly established by the management committee of Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing, the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing, and the Italian chamber of commerce in China.

With the support of the center, many Italian enterprises have settled down in the China-Italy industrial park in Liangjiang New Area. The Italian enterprises in Chongqing are mainly involved in manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses.

Official data showed that the foreign trade volume between Chongqing and Italy was 1.98 billion yuan ($295 million) from January to April.

The Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing has also invited Italian performance troupes to Chongqing many times, offering local residents a closer look into the beauty of Italian culture.

Buttarello is ready to do his part. "I will continue to work as a bridge between Italy and China and help more Chinese people understand Italy," he says.

Xinhua