A celebration was held in Prague, the Czech Republic this week to mark the fifth anniversary of the Confucius Institute of the University of Finance and Administration (VSFS) in Prague.

The celebration highlighted art performances including Chinese dragon dance, qipao dress show and Czech traditional music.

The event was attended by VSFS teachers and students, officials from the Chinese ­embassy, as well as representatives from China Jiliang University, a university based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou that jointly launched the Confucius Institute with VSFS in 2018.

Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Feng Biao commended the contributions made by the Confucius Institute in the last five years in advancing language and cultural exchanges between the two countries and in fostering closer people-to-people ties.

Language and culture learning is the basis and a vital aspect of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, Feng said, expressing hope that the Chinese language teaching at the VSFS will nurture more professionals who will work to deepen the friendship between the Chinese and Czech people and boost bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Bohuslava Senkyrova, rector of the VSFS, said Czech students are very enthusiastic about learning Chinese language and culture. 

She spoke highly of the Confucius Institute's role in strengthening friendship and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Jiang Hui, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said the institute will continue to serve as a bridge to further promoting friendship between the two nations.