Culture

Chinese Bridge Language Competition H eld in Bulgaria

The Bulgarian national qualification contest of the 11th Chinese Bridge， a Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign secondary school students， was held on April 28.

Twelve teenagers studying Chinese demonstrated Chinese language and cultural skills such as dancing， singing， and martial arts.

Stanislav Makreev from Sofia won the competition， and will represent Bulgaria at the finals in China together with the competitions runner-up Lora Toskova from the town of Plovdiv.

While addressing the event， Chen Ying， an official with the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria， said this year marks the 65th anniversary of the launch of the Chinese language learning program in the Balkan country.

According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science， over 1，200 children are currently studying Chinese language in the country.

The Chinese Bridge competition was first organized in 2008 to inspire students between 15 to 20 years old to learn Chinese and enhance their understanding of Chinese culture.

Chinese Embassy Donates Cyrillic Version of Buddhist Classics to Mongolian Library

The Chinese Embassy in Mongolia has donated a modern Mongolian Cyrillic version of a Tibetan Buddhist classic to a library in the countrys north.

The sutras of 410 volumes of the classic Kangyur and Tengyur were handed over to the director of Central Library in the northern province of Darkhan-Uul， at a ceremony in the capital Ulan Bator attended by a number of officials from both countries.

“China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers，” Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Xing Haiming said during the handover ceremony.

“In recent years， cultural relations between the two countries have grown. Todays event is part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations in the cultural sector，” he added.

“This is a great gift to us from the people of China. We are grateful that our young people are able to read the wonderful scriptures in their mother language，” said library director Mr. D. Tserendavaa.

Last year， the Chinese Embassy to Mongolia donated the same books to the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the National University of Mongolia.

Chinese Delegation Introduces X injiang to the Egyptians

A cultural delegation from Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region attended a seminar at the Chinese embassy in Cairo on May 7 to enhance mutual understanding.

Representatives from Egypts political parties， members of the Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Association， and reporters from both countries attended the seminar. Xu Guixiang， vice secretary-general of the Chinese Overseas Friendship Association and head of the delegation， briefed the attendees on Xinjiangs history and customs as well as the governments economic， social， ethnic， and religious policies for Xinjiang. Xu said the visit was intended to promote Egyptiansunderstanding of Xinjiang and enhance cultural and people-topeople exchanges.

Xinjiang is a multiethnic， multicultural and religiously diverse region， where different religious groups live in peaceful coexistence with equal status， he explained.

“However， extremist thoughts， the basis of separatism and terrorism， have caused great damage to Xinjiang. These thoughts must be uprooted according to relevant laws，” he said.

Xu dismissed untrue reports about Xinjiang， saying they were written and disseminated by people unfamiliar with Xinjiangs realities. He encouraged people to better understand Xinjiang through communication and visits.

The Chinese delegation also visited the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and Al-Azhar University， discussing religious policies， the fight against extremist thoughts， and ways to boost cultural exchanges.