Bulgarian medieval capital Veliko Turnovo on Monday for the first time hosted the national qualifications for the 12th "Chinese Bridge", Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students.

Five students from two Bulgarian universities gave speeches, answered questions about China and showed traditional Chinese skills.

Konstantin Volkov, a student at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", won the competition and will represent Bulgaria at the final stage in China. His runner-up Yoana Dimitrova from "St. Cyril and St. Methodius" University of Veliko Turnovo (UVT) will attend the event as a spectator.

Professor Plamen Legkostup, Rector of UVT, said at the opening ceremony he was happy that during the year when the university celebrated its 50th anniversary, it hosted this spectacular event.

According to Iskra Mandova, Bulgarian Director of Confucius Institute at UVT where the event was held, the competition was very important for the participants not only because they showed their abilities, but also because they advertised Bulgaria.

Yuan Jigang, head of the education section at the Chinese embassy in Sofia, said Chinese Studies departments at Sofia University and UVT this year celebrated 60th and 20th anniversaries respectively.

He hoped that more and more Bulgarian students would choose to specialize in China. Endi

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