ISLAMABAD: Over the weekend, the nation of Pakistan celebrated International Chinese Language Day, highlighting the growing interest in learning one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
The interest in the Chinese language in Pakistan is mainly due to the significant investments made by China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This year’s celebrations were held under the theme of “Chinese Language: Facilitating Dialogues across Civilisations,” with activities hosted by the China-funded Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms across Pakistan.
The country has five major Confucius schools, including ones at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), the University of Sargodha, the University of Punjab, the University of Agriculture, and the University of Karachi, with over 30,000 students learning the Chinese language.
Chinese is also one of the official languages of the United Nations, with April 20 designated as UN Chinese Language Day to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity.
