This thesis investigates a much discussed,yet often misunderstood topic:Confucius Institutes(CIs)and their influence on foreign audiences.With more than 500 CIs having opened worldwide during the last decade and a half,the Chinese government’s cultural initiative has sparked large debates over the institutes’ real aims.In a number of countries both scholars and politicians have been urging university staff members to close CIs at their university campuses.The reason for the fierce opposition against CIs is that many perceive them as a tool in the hands of the Chinese government to shape foreign audiences’ view of the country,and as a part of a soft power initiative that aims at attracting foreigners to Chinese values and political agendas.At the other end of the debate there are a few scholars arguing for a more nuanced understanding of the CI network,suggesting that instead of furthering Chinese soft power advances,CIs serve the cause of building a deeper cultural understanding between China and other nations.This thesis aims at providing a fresh insight into this matter.The basis of this dissertation is a primary research which has been carried out to see how current and former Hungarian CI students’ perception of China has changed due to them having studied at a CI.During the research both qualitative and quantitative data was collected,in which participants were asked to reflect on their own CI experiences and to recount how their cultural and non-cultural interest towards China has been transformed during their CI studies.After the data was collected,and the pre-and post-CI experiences were compared I came to the conclusion that CIs should not be regarded as vehicles of Chinese soft power advancement as their soft power effects are minuscular.Instead,I would suggest to see CIs as peaceful cultural institutions aiming at the enhancement of a deeper cultural understanding between China and other nations of the world.