SOFIA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Confucius Institute in Sofia on Saturday celebrated the Global Confucius Institute Day for the fifth consecutive year.

During the three-hour event in the institute's courtyard, visitors had Chinese language lessons and enjoyed tea ceremony and tasting, calligraphy, paper cutting and Chinese traditional painting.

Mao Yancheng, head of the education section of the Chinese embassy in Bulgaria, said at the opening ceremony that the Global Confucius Institute Day is one of the most important and significant events in the history of the development of this institution.

Prof. Gao Chunli, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, added that maybe it was the first opportunity for some of the visitors to explore the Chinese culture, and wished them have fun.

More and more Bulgarian citizens were interested in the courses organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia, the institute's Bulgarian Director Aksiniya Koleva said.

In addition, the number of schools in Bulgaria where Chinese was taught has increased, Koleva said, adding that since the beginning of this year, two new schools have introduced Chinese language.