Twenty-year-old representing Portugal to attend "Chinese Bridge" semi-final

BRAGA, Portugal, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A Portuguese college student on Saturday qualified for the semi-final in the preliminary Portuguese round of the 7th 'Chinese Bridge,' a Chinese-language proficiency competition for foreign college students.

Twenty-year-old Antonio Rodriguez from Minho University will go to China to attend the semi-final of the worldwide Chinese-language proficiency contest, slated for June in Changsha, capital of China's Hunan Province.

This is the second time that Portugal holds such a contest and the theme of this year's event is "Olympic Excitement, Chinese Fun."

The three rounds of the contest, including speech delivery, a talent show and a quiz, were held at the University of Minho in Braga city in Northern Portugal.

The contest provides as an opportunity for Chinese language learners to share their experiences and deepen their understanding about the Chinese language and culture, said Zhang Shixia, an official at the education office of the Chinese embassy in Portugal.

The annual "Chinese Bridge" competition was initiated in 2002 with the aim of expanding exchange and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

The Chinese language proficiency contest exists as an important platform for college students around the world to learn the Chinese language and get to know more about the Asian country.

Statistics show that more than 30 million people overseas are learning the Chinese language.