The national qualifications for the 14th "Chinese Bridge", Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, were held at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo (UVT) on Sunday.

Nine participants, representing over 300 students studying Chinese in five Bulgarian universities, delivered speeches about their dreams, answered questions about Chinese language and culture, and showed traditional skills related to China like dancing, singing and paper-cutting.

For the first time ever, a UVT student, Snezhana Stanilova, won the competition and will represent Bulgaria at the final stage in China.

Her runner-up Donka Hristova from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" will attend the event as a spectator.

While addressing the event, jointly organized by the Confucius Institute at UVT and the Chinese embassy in Sofia, Yuan Jigang, head of the embassy's education section, thanked to all who contributed to encouraging the learning of Chinese language in Bulgaria and bilateral cultural exchange.

He said he was happy that more and more Bulgarians studied Chinese language and fulfilled their Chinese dreams through the Chinese Language Bridge.

In turn, Professor Plamen Legkostup, Rector of UVT, said the participation in the event was a feast day for the students who walked over the bridge from Veliko Turnovo to China.