Word files are saved in binary format, ...
That is not completely correct.
docx files are XML files that are compressed by a process like the process to make a zip file.
If you change the extension of a .docx file to .zip, you can then uncompress it (in Windows), the result is this structure:
The folder _rels has this file:
The folder docProps:
The folder word:
This is for a simple file, only consisting of text, no pictures or other stuff.
All are xml files, even the file that has the extension .rels.
But indeed, it is not possible to read the (zipped) .docx into a Notepad without first decompressing it!
You get all kinds of strange characters, that it looks like Chinese is just coincidence.
PS. If you have saved them using Notepad, chances are that you can't convert them back.
