Bulgarian national qualifications of the 15th "Chinese Language Bridge", the world's major Chinese proficiency competition for foreign university students, were held on Sunday.
Six competitors delivered speeches about their dreams, played quiz games related to Chinese language and culture, and showed artistic talents such as singing, dancing and painting.
Tzvetomir Velikov, a student at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo (UVT), won the competition and will represent Bulgaria at the final stage in China. His runner-up Dobromira Georgieva from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" will attend the event as a spectator.
Aksiniya Koleva, Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, said at the opening ceremony in the Big Hall of its recently opened new building "it is pleasing that in Bulgaria, which is a small country, over 200 people are studying Chinese language in six universities."
Professor Plamen Legkostup, Board Chairman of the Confucius Institute at UVT, said that indeed, in Bulgaria the Chinese language and culture have been elevated to a special level, and the activities of the two Confucius Institutes are probably the most developed among the Balkan countries.
