Confucius Institute in Ljubljana celebrates UN Chinese Language Day

LJUBLJANA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute at Ljubljana University in Slovenia held an event Thursday to mark the 14th annual United Nations Chinese Language Day.

Nearly 300 people, including teachers, students, lovers of the Chinese language and culture, and overseas Chinese visitors, participated in the event.

"The Chinese language not only undertakes the historical mission of witnessing, carrying and disseminating Chinese culture, but also plays an important role in promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and the world," Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing said.

In the new era, the Chinese language continues to develop through inheritance and innovation, and its influence in international exchanges continues to increase, showing more vigorous vitality, Wang said.

By the end of 2021, more than 180 countries and regions around the world had offered education in Chinese language, more than 70 countries had included Chinese in their national education systems, and the number of people studying and using Chinese in countries other than China had reached 200 million, according to the United Nations statistics.

The Confucius Institute also organized workshops, such as calligraphy, painting, tea art, cultural performances and food tasting, to showcase traditional Chinese culture in an all-round way and to build a platform for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Slovenia.