The "Silk Road" international conference on Chinese language teaching organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia opened in Sofia on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador Guo Yezhou told the opening ceremony that the two-day event, the first of its kind, gathered scientists and experts from Europe, Asia and Africa to discuss the theory and practice of the Chinese language teaching abroad.

"I am convinced that this forum will surely play an important role in stimulating the development of Chinese language study and research, and exchange of cultures between the parties present," he said.

Angel Orbetsov, head of the Asia, Australia and Oceania Directorate at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, said he believed that this forum would lead to new contacts and friendships, and would generate new ideas and joint projects.

"A Study of Chinese and Bulgarian Body Languages," "On Russian Translations of Lu Xun" and "Teaching Business Chinese and Spread of Economic Culture -- a New Silk Road Leading to the Southern Part of Africa" were some of the reports presented during this conference.

The conference also marked the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, and the first year of the death of Zhang Sunfen who was a founder of the Chinese teaching in Bulgaria.

"The Institute has become an important platform for exchanges between Chinese and Bulgarian people, and substantially contributed to the continued development of the cause related to the teaching of Chinese language in Bulgaria," Ambassador Guo said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2011)