'Chinese Bridge' language competition held in Bulgaria

Bulgarian national qualifications of the Sixth "Chinese Bridge" -- Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students, were held here on Saturday.

Ten students, representing the 400 teenagers studying Chinese in Bulgaria, demonstrated Chinese language and cultural skills at the event jointly organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia and the Chinese embassy.

Preslava Pavlova, 16, who won the competition, will represent Bulgaria at the finals in China together with her runner-up Elitsa Stefanova, 15.

Alexander Alexiev, Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, said at the opening ceremony that it would be a noble race of ability to study Chinese language and culture, and very interesting display of youth creativity.

He hoped to make such bridges of understanding with the joint efforts of his colleagues and the Chinese embassy, he said.

Liu Yonghong, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in Sofia, said that according to the government's plan, China would become the most desirable country in Asia for university education by 2020.

His country would welcome more Bulgarian young people who through specializations would be able to explore ancient Chinese culture and enjoy the charm of modern China, Liu said.

The "Chinese Bridge" competition was first organized in Bulgaria by the Confucius Institute in 2008 to inspire Bulgarian students between 15 to 20 years old to learn Chinese and enhance their understanding of the Chinese culture.