At dawn, the city of Ulaanbaatar slowly woke up and started a new day of busyness. Enkhbat, a 19-year-old Mongolian college student, waited outside the Chinese proficiency test room early to prepare for this test to test his Chinese proficiency. "I am a sophomore now, and I want to pass this exam to see my Chinese level and prepare for studying abroad in the future." Enkhbat said. He comes from Kent, Mongolia, and his parents are herders. An accidental experience made him have an indissoluble bond with Chinese.

In the summer of 2023, Enkhbat followed his father to Ulaanbaatar to sell cashmere products, during which he met a China businessman. Because the translator was not present at that time, the father and son could neither understand each other's words nor speak Chinese, and the business failed to be negotiated in the end. That day, his father patted him on the shoulder and said, "After going to college, you must learn Chinese well." So, in college, Enkhbat chose Chinese as his major and planned to study in Shanghai after graduation. "China's market has great potential, and Mongolia-China trade has unlimited possibilities." He said wistfully.

In Mongolia, there are more and more young people like Enkhbat who are keen on learning Chinese. Cheng Shengli, Chinese Dean of the Confucius Institute at the National University of Mongolia, said that among the people learning foreign languages in Mongolia, the number of people learning Chinese is second only to English. At present, there are 18 national primary and secondary schools and more than 40 private schools in Mongolia offering Chinese courses, and more than 150 primary and secondary schools plan to add Chinese courses. Four Confucius Institutes, including the Confucius Institute of the National University of Mongolia and the Confucius Institute of the National Education University of Mongolia, as well as the Confucius Classroom of the Yucai Chinese School in Mongolia, have become important positions for Mongolian Chinese teaching and cultural exchanges between China and Mongolia.

Ji Ya, a Chinese teacher, said that students are interested in learning Chinese, singing Chinese songs and following China TV series. Because some students like China actors, they even memorize all their lines in TV series, and their Chinese level has been improved rapidly.

The "Chinese Bridge" competition also ignited the enthusiasm of Mongolian students to learn Chinese. Hulan, a junior high school student in Dahan Rainbow Middle School, told reporters: "The Chinese Bridge has greatly improved my Chinese performance, and it has also made me find that there are too many mysteries hidden in Chinese that are worth exploring." In recent years, more and more Mongolian students have participated in the Chinese Bridge competition. On this stage, everyone regards the competition as a "training ground" for learning Chinese, making every preparation and competition a valuable opportunity to improve their Chinese ability.

In Cheng Shengli's eyes, "Chinese Bridge" is not only a competition, but also a channel for Mongolian students to enter the Chinese world. On this road, they feel not only the unique charm of language, but also the infinite potential of cultural exchanges between the two countries. (This article is from Daodao www.seetao.com, official website. It is not allowed to reprint without permission, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Daodao. com+original link for reprinting.) See Editor of Daodao. com Infrastructure Project/Wang Xia.