Learning about China all the rage in Thailand

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Chawalit Jujia is an ethnic Thai who speaks fluent Chinese. At the Confucius Institute at Bangkok's Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Jujia teaches students how to speak and write in Chinese.

Learning Chinese is difficult, but the students listen with earnest attention. Despite starting from scratch, students gradually begin to grasp the nuances in tones and meaning.

Jujia believes that the growing economic ties between China and Thailand have brought more exchanges between the two people groups. Therefore, learning Chinese is now a must for many Thais.

China is Thailand's largest trading partner with 66 billion US dollars in 2016. About 87 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand last year, which is more than a quarter of the total tourists to visit the country.

Thai Chinese teacher Zhu Guangming practices Chinese calligraphy. /CGTN Photo

There are currently between 800,000 to 1 million Chinese language learners in 27 Confucius locations all around the country. Children start learning Chinese in primary schools or even kindergartens. Chinese proficiency tests are held every year and hundreds of students graduate with a fluency in the language.

"China and Thailand have strong historical ties. Chinese culture is widely liked here," said Wen Xiangyu, head of the Confucius Institute at Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, which specializes in training Chinese teachers for Thailand. She believes the Confucius Institute is a cultural bridge between China and Thailand and a way of communicating the Chinese language and culture to other countries.