French actors thrive on the drama of China

Provided to China Daily

"I'm moved that whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant, people are friendly, and either smile or play with my children. But when you go to a restaurant in Paris with small kids, you're annoying people - and there are no baby chairs," he says.

Both they and their wives have learned Chinese, but their children speak the best.

Like most foreign kids, Baraban's 5-year-old blond son learns Chinese from his Chinese nanny. When Baraban takes a cab, the cab driver can't understand him due to his accent, so he often takes his kids.

Oyarzabal says it was the global economy's change over the last 10 to 15 years that brought them here.

When his wife was deciding to open an office in Beijing for her company, they spent three days in the city in February 2011 to check out the city.

"It's very active and moving. Shops are open late at night, people work on weekends and a lot of construction is ongoing," he says.

Four months later, the couple dressed in traditional Chinese attire and prepared Chinese food for the family to announce the big news. The three children screamed for two days because they didn't want to go.

But the kids adapted to the new environment the most easily. Each child had new friends on the first day in the school in Beijing, and their perception changed completely.

He says the education is of a high standard comparable to what they would get in Paris, and the children learn Chinese language and culture.

"In China, people live in an environment that's moving all the time. It's like when you are on a bicycle - you have to move to ride it. When you stop, you fall. When the bicycle is moving, you can stay on it very easily," Baraban says.

"Now I'm more used to that and have a lot of pleasure in a moving environment. Being an actor, everything is about adaptability."