Pisa provides a towering example of institutes

Li Jing's face glows with enthusiasm as she talks about her years in Pisa from 2008 to 2012.

"When a professor from Pisa decided to go to China and check out the possibility of cooperation in 2006, he'd never even heard about Chongqing," she said. "Now this professor has become a colleague of mine and is a frequent traveler to the city."

Thanks to the Confucius Institute of Pisa, which opened its doors in 2008, China has become a popular topic in the Italian city famous for its leaning tower.