10th "Chinese Bridge" language competition held in Bulgaria

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

A total of 12 students from five Bulgarian schools demonstrated Chinese language and cultural skills at the event, jointly organized by the Confucius Institute at "St. Cyril and St. Methodius" University of Veliko Turnovo (UVT) and the Chinese embassy in Sofia.

Danail Stoyanov won the competition, and will represent the Balkan country at the finals in China, together with his runner-up, Anna-Maria Velizarova.

Stoyanov told Xinhua he has already visited China, ranking third at the "Chinese Bridge" last year.

"My future is certainly related to the Chinese language... It is very difficult, but I will continue to study it," Stoyanov said.

While addressing the event, Wu Xiaoying, a counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Sofia and member of the competition jury, said the "Chinese Bridge" competition has already become a bridge for friendship.

Prof. Tsenka Ivanova, Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages at VTU, said that in today's dynamic world, mutual understanding and dialogue are impossible without language communication.

The communication through the Chinese language is one of the futures of our planet, Ivanova added.

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. Endit