The book, a self-study book for beginners to learn the Chinese language, is written by Victoria Arowolo, one of the first African Chinese language instructor in the country who is currently teaching at the Confucius Institute of UNILAG, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

The University’s 2007 Honors Colloquium, China Rising, and the establishment of a Confucius Institute at URI, one of only 20 Confucius Institutes in the U.S. and one of only 156 in the world at that time, boosted interest in Chinese language learning. An annual URI Moon Festival and other activities draw appreciative crowds.

Invited by the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, they were attending a two-week summer camp organized by Shandong University in different cities of China....Khan said the visit gave Pakistan students an opportunity to get firsthand knowledge about China and experience the country's rich and diverse culture.

The Confucius Institute of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, the only test center in northeast Mexico, has held the HSK for three times since the first test in January 2010. Some 45 candidates took the test Saturday at three different levels.

Students all over the world are learning Chinese and reaping its benefits. The number is rising as China plays a more important role on the world stage and offers many job opportunities. And learning about 5,000 years of culture is a big draw.

The BBG said it would shut down VOA's Chinese radio and television broadcasts while making its Mandarin-language service available only on the Internet. Forty-five journalists, or more than half of the branch's full-time staff, will be let go.

Late last year, a senior official from the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing announced that there were now over 40 million foreign learners worldwide studying Chinese.

Addressing a symposium to mark the 10th anniversary of the Law on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, Liu said popularizing the standard Chinese language is vital for "carrying out the Chinese culture, enhancing the country's soft power, national unification and unity among all ethnic groups."