21 Bulgarian students receive Chinese Ambassador Scholarships

SOFIA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- For the third consecutive year, Chinese Ambassador Scholarships were handed out here on Monday to outstanding Bulgarian university students studying Chinese.

This year, scholarships were granted to 21 students from four universities.

Since the establishment of the scholarships in 2021, the project has received a lot of attention from experts, scholars, and Chinese language lovers in Bulgaria's academic circles, Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dong Xiaojun said at the award ceremony.

The scholarships aim to promote the development of Chinese language education in Bulgaria, stimulate the enthusiasm of students to learn Chinese, and enable more young people to learn about China and Chinese culture, Dong said at the event, held in Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski."

The scholarship supports the students and enables them to realize their dreams, and it also promotes friendly relations between the two countries, Dong said.

"Thank you for your gesture to our students," said Sasho Penov, Bulgaria's caretaker minister of education and science. "I want to assure you that this will be an even greater incentive for learning the Chinese language in Bulgaria."

He said he hoped that successful bilateral cooperation would continue, and better results would be achieved.

Appreciating the opportunity for the scholarship, Nancy Chepanova, a student from the University of Plovdiv and a scholarship receiver said it served as an additional motivation not to give up and a recognition for the work done.

Victoria Petrova from South-West University said that learning Chinese was her dream come true. "Since my first day as a student, my interest in Chinese language and culture has grown day by day," Petrova said.

She said she hoped that after graduating, she would have the opportunity to go to China and experience its cultural richness.