When you give someone a hug, you usually get one in return. This is exactly what hundreds of Chinese teachers and volunteers have experienced after working for Confucius Institutes overseas.

"Almost every teacher who has taught abroad would say that he or she has lived an extra life compared with people who haven't had that experience," said Xu Lin, director-general of Hanban, the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing.

"Their horizons were broadened and their lives changed in many ways, after meeting people and seeing things they had never imagined."