ADDIS ABABA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Haregwoyn Abera, a cheerful 21-year-old Chinese language student at Mekelle University, has a particular reason to feel happy currently.

Abera, the winner of the 18th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for foreign college students, Ethiopian preliminary rounds, held on Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and organized by the Confucius Institute in Ethiopia, wowed judges with her speaking and poetic skills.

The competition featured students who showed their skills in signing, dancing, poetry, drama as well performance skills in Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art known for its slow and graceful movements. It is practiced by millions of people around the world.

"I first made a speech in Chinese language for three minutes, then proceeded to answer questions in Chinese language and finished my round by speaking poetry in Chinese language," Abera told Xinhua.

Abera said learning Chinese language initially was tough for her.

However, she said her childhood fascination with Chinese culture and the relentless encouragement of her Chinese teachers has helped her manage speaking and writing Chinese.

"Writing the Chinese characters was a challenge initially, but I gave my time and efforts to learn the language and I succeeded," Abera told Xinhua.

Abera also learned for one year in Sichuan Normal University in China to help her better practice her Chinese language skills and learn more about Chinese culture.

Abera who is set to graduate from her Chinese language studies later this year is optimistic she will have a good prospect in the job market in Ethiopia, where the large presence of Chinese companies has given rise to an increasing Chinese language translation sector.

"After I graduate from my Chinese language studies, I plan to either become a Chinese language translator or Chinese language teacher," Abera told Xinhua.

Fu Wei, a confucius studies program coordinator at Mekelle University and one of Abera's favorite teachers, is similarly optimistic about the rising number of Ethiopians eager to learn Chinese language and culture.

"I started teaching Chinese language in Mekelle University in 2016, and since then I have seen a steady rise in the number of Ethiopians learning in my classes," Fu told Xinhua.

Acknowledging learning Chinese initially was a hard task to Ethiopian students, Fu devised a number of strategies to make the learning an enjoyable experience.

"Mastering the Chinese characters and pronunciation was initially a challenge to our students. To help them master the studies I give my students various Chinese language and culture themed activities."

Tan Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, said, "We believe that with more and more Ethiopians learning Chinese our relations with Ethiopia will be much closer."

"These kinds of language program can serve as a bond and platform to enhance our cooperation," said Tan.