September 1st, 2012, Songkhla - The 4th Chinese Culture Competition in Southern Thailand, which was jointly sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the Prince of Songkla University and Hatyaiwittayalaisomboonkulkanya School, came to a successful end. The competition was the biggest one of its kind in scale held, with a total of 315 students from 22 public secondary schools in southern Thailand participating in 8 events. AJ.Uthaiwan Chalermchai, an official of the Office of the Basic Education Commission Ministry of Education was present at the opening ceremony and gave a speech.

In order to improve the students’ enthusiasm for learning Chinese language and culture, and to showcase the results of Chinese education in southern Thailand, the Confucius Institute joined hands with Hatyaiwittayalaisomboonkulkanya School to host the competition, which consisted of 8 events including speeches, storytelling, pen-and-ink calligraphy, calligraphy, Chinese knots, paper-cutting, recitations and Chinese Karaoke songs. The contestants were divided into two groups: junior middle school and senior middle school. During the competition, the contestants fully demonstrated their talents, Chinese proficiency and knowledge of elements of Chinese culture and arts, such as Chinese calligraphy and knots. The competition was exciting and intense, and proceeded in perfect order, which clearly demonstrated that the contestants were fully prepared for the event.

A number of new stars who are well versed in the Chinese language appeared in the competition. Their Chinese proficiency and knowledge of Chinese culture fully displayed the great achievements accomplished in Chinese education by southern Thailand. At the closing ceremony，Ma Zhi, Director of the Confucius Institute, noted that the competition offered a chance for the students to learn from each other, and that he wanted to see more students participate in the next competition.

In recent years, the number of secondary schools offering Chinese courses in southern Thailand has soared, and Chinese ranks second only to English as a foreign language taught in these schools. Some Chinese schools even allocate more hours to Chinese teaching than to English teaching. In addition, the number of both local and volunteer Chinese teachers is increasing every year.