A total of 516 Confucius Institutes have been built in 142 countries and regions around the world, helping over 7 million people with Chinese learning, according to Confucius Institute Headquarters on Sept. 29, Xinhuanet.com reported.

Confucius Institutes have been established worldwide since 2004 as a non-profit public educational organization affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education, whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.

The need for Chinese learning has seen such a dramatic growth with China’s economic development and increasingly frequent exchanges with countries that 67 countries made Chinese teaching mandatory in their national educational systems and over 170 countries established Chinese learning classes.

Various cultural activities held on Confucius Institute Open Day on Sept. 29 signify the institute’s important role as a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and other countries.