Confucius Classroom for Chinese language and culture unveiled in Slovenia

LJUBLJANA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- A "Confucius Classroom" for the teaching of Chinese language and culture was unveiled in Celje, Slovenia on Thursday.

It is the fifth such classroom established in Slovenia by the Confucius Institute at the University of Ljubljana, Since 2012, the institute has set up classrooms in Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj and Koper. The Confucius Institute was jointly founded by the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and the University of Ljubljana.

The Confucius Classroom, established in Gymnasium Celje-Center secondary school, gives workshops on Chinese cuisine, calligraphy, kung-fu and tea arts.

For the opening ceremony, students from Gymnasium Celje-Center presented a shadow puppet show, Guzheng performance, and Chinese songs.

The establishment of the Confucius Classroom in Celje coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovenia, said Zhao Binghui, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Slovenia.

"Over the past 30 years, China-Slovenia relations have developed steadily and healthily, cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results ... Cultural exchanges have continued to deepen," Zhao said.

The Confucius Institute and Confucius Classrooms are important platforms for language and cultural exchanges, for the people of China and Slovenia to understand each other, and help to deepen the friendship between the two peoples, he said.

China has a huge influence in the world, making it necessary for Slovenia to carry out economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation with China, said Danijela Voljc, Slovenian director of the Confucius Institute. Chinese language teaching is also very important, she added.

Since its establishment 13 years ago, the Confucius Institute has been committed to the teaching of the Chinese language and the promotion of Chinese culture in Slovenia, said Jin Quan, director of the Foreign Affairs Office at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, via video link.

It is an all-round interactive platform and provides strong support for China-Slovenia business exchanges, Jin added.

Slovenia has incorporated the Chinese language into the Slovenian national education system since 2012, Lu Tingyao, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, told Xinhua.

The establishment of the Celje Confucius Classroom is another successful story of promoting Chinese in secondary schools in Slovenia, Lu said.