The 2019 Chinese Bridge - UK Mandarin Excellence Programme Summer Camp officially opened in the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) on July 8.

The camp is jointly held by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China, the British Council, and the UCL Institute of Education.

Some 822 British middle school students and 103 British teachers will participate in the two-week camp, visiting 10 colleges and universities in different Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi'an, Jinan, Shenyang and Kunming from July 3 to July 18. Chinese teachers from these 10 colleges and universities excelling in international education and Chinese language teaching will guide the visitors to various places of interest, including shopping malls, bus stations and subways, and help them purchase tickets and take ride the subway only using the Chinese language they have learned. The British students will also visit landmark places in the cities and come to know of their development in the various city planning exhibition halls.

Han Hong, director of the UIBE's Institute of International Business Chinese Education and Resources Development, welcomed teachers and students from the UK's Anglo European School and St Mary Magdalene Academy in her speech during the opening ceremony of the summer camp. She said that the growing popularity of the Chinese language in the U.K. would surely further promote bilateral relations and enhance cooperation and communication.

With communications in education, culture and youth sectors between China and the U.K. deepening and becoming more comprehensive, there is great confidence that the Chinese Bridge - UK Mandarin Excellence Programme Summer Camp will further improve the quality of Chinese language teaching in Britain, enhance communication among young people, and strengthen friendship and trust among the two peoples.