KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute at the University of Malaya celebrated its 10th anniversary on Tuesday, marking a decade in advancing educational and cultural ties between China and Malaysia.
At a ceremony to mark the establishment of the institute, hundred guests were joined by Associate Vice Chancellor (International) Yong Zulina Zubairi, Confucius Institute director Noor Zalina Mahmood, director and guest of honor Beijing Foreign Studies University's Vice President Sun Youzhong.
In her speech, Zulina said Mandarin is a fast growing language with over 1 billion speakers, and it has rapidly become a language of knowledge, making it advantageous for those seeking to take advantage of an increasingly interconnected and integrated world.
"Mandarin is reckoned to be the most difficult language in the world to learn, but that also make it the most interesting language. It's the world's only remaining pictographic language in common use, with thousands of characters making up the written language.
"In this fast-changing world, knowing Mandarin language and culture will give learners an advantage in competition with others. Learning a language often means learning and understanding about the culture associated with it. Understanding culture promote engagement with others, and build strong, diverse communities," she said.
Sun said the institute, by the hard work and dedication of its staff, had effectively uplifted the cultural and linguistic connections between the two countries, helping to foster a better understanding of China among Malaysians.
"The vision of the institute is to thrive for global peace and harmony through the medium of language (Mandarin) and the enhancement of bilateral relationship between Malaysia and China."
"In the past 10 years, Confucius Institute has been serving the local community and partner universities and schools with Chinese language teaching, and has always dedicated itself to the promotion of Sino-Malaysian Language and Cultural Exchange Mechanism," he said.
Also unveiled at the ceremony was the institute's new website and corporate video, with the Wenzhou University Art Troupe putting on are performances.
The Confucius or Kong Zi Institute of the Universiti Malaya was established in July 2009 based on a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Confucius Institute Headquarters China, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Universiti Malaya and is one of 535 worldwide.
Being the first Confucius Institute to be established in Malaysia, its main role is to teach Mandarin to non-native speakers and introduce Chinese mainland culture to local people through social-based activities such as celebration of various Chinese festivals, martial art classes, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese cooking and traditional Chinese medicinal practice.
Some 35,000 students across Malaysia have learned Mandarin with the involvement of over 200 teachers, while more than 400 students, local Mandarin teachers and heads of Malaysian educational institutions have visited China.
