The Artistic Group of China's Hebei Communication Institute presented a performance of Chinese folk dance here Thursday night to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

About 500 people watched the show organized by the Confucius Institute in Brasilia University (UnB) and the Chinese university.

The Confucius Institute, a school dedicated to popularizing the Chinese language and culture abroad, was opened in August 2009 and is the 267th one in the world.

"I enjoyed it a lot. It is an opportunity to get to know the Chinese culture. We seldom have opportunities like this," said Samanta Possi, a 22-year-old International Relations student at UnB.

"I wish more people could have watched this amazing spectacle," said another student named Fernando Neves.

According to Ana Flavia Granja, UnB's international affairs advisor, there is an increasing number of people interested in learning Chinese.

"I would say that it is due to the political and economic importance of China nowadays. And also because many people are interested in Chinese medicine, gastronomy and martial arts," she said.

Pedro Borges, a 24-year-old Accountancy student at UnB, has been studying Chinese at the university for six months.

"I study Chinese because I am interested in the Chinese culture," he said.

Borges was enchanted with the dance performance which showed China's rich cultural diversity.

It has been the first time for the artistic group to perform in Brazil. They will also perform in Argentina and Chile.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2009)