Photo: Soldiers take snow bath to enhance resistance against cold

Taking a snow bath is a tradition for some military units in Northeast China. Last week, several soldiers from the Frontier Scouts took off their coats to bathe in snow in -20 C in the city of Heihe, Heilongjiang province. They believe the bath will enhance resistance against cold and build a strong body.

ItemfromDec5,1998,in ChinaDaily:ForeignstudentsstudyingatBeijing Universityperform Ode to the ’98 Anti-Flood Heroes yesterday.

Thefreezingcoldhasnot dampenedtheenthusiasmof foreignstudentsforlearning Chinese.Yesterdayevening, 300studentsfrom50countriestookpartinaperformancefeaturingChinese languageartisticprograms. …

In a mere 12 years, the Confucius Institute has opened 500 campuses worldwide, teaching Chinese language and culture to almost 2 million people.

Attached to foreign universities, the institute is a network of not-for-profit Mandarin language-teaching schools and cultural centers for those who seek to learn about China.

It is overseen by the Office of Chinese Language Council International.

The first campus opened its doors in Seoul in 2004. By the following year, there were 33 in operation. Today, there are more than 500, spread across more than 134 countries and on every continent apart from Antarctica.

By 2020, it aims to have more than 1,000 worldwide.

In addition to offering Chinese courses to the general public, some campuses provide tailored language classes to a range of would-be Mandarin speakers, including undergraduates and university staff, businesspeople and government officials.

The Chinese economy is driving global interest in Mandarin, placing the network in an enviable position.

Thanks to China’s economic clout and expanding trade links with the 60-plus countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative, there is little work is needed to promote the language in those nations.

The majority of campuses are located in a handful of countries — more than 100, for instance, are in the United States, and more than two dozen in the United Kingdom.

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