'Smartest student' speaks 10 languages, can say 'hello' in 100

Known to netizens as China's "smartest student," Beijing's own Zhou Youxi, who speaks 10 languages and knows greetings of 100 different countries, beat out 3,000 other contestants for the job of image ambassador for the World Expo's only village pavilion, according to the Beijing Morning News.

Zhou, who is in the 9th grade, beat out contenders from 10 different countries, including China, Germany, England and Japan, to represent the Zhejiang Fenghutentou village pavilion.

Zhou was born in an ordinary family. Her father is a retired worker, her mother is a kindergarten teacher and her brother studies in a university in America.

"My father has influenced me a lot," Zhou said.

Her father is 55 years old, and he still insists on learning English everyday. In order to learn genuine foreign language, Zhou's father moved her around many times.

They moved to Inner Mongolia to learn Mongolian, to Jilin Yanbian to learn Korean and then she learned French and Portuguese in Beijing Language and Culture University. In addition to teaching herself Japanese, Spanish and sign language, Zhou got the English International Interpretation 5th level certificate, which is the highest level.

By People's Daily Online