VELIKO TURNOVO, Bulgaria, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian national qualifications of the 21st "Chinese Bridge," the world's major Chinese proficiency competition for foreign university students, were held here on Sunday.

       Six competitors participated in the event, jointly organized by the Chinese embassy in Sofia and the Confucius Institute at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo (UVT).

       Yoana Borisova from the UVT won the competition and will represent Bulgaria at the final stage in China.

       Borisova, 21, told Xinhua that she has been studying Chinese for three years.

       "China is a very strong country economically, and has many connections with all other countries in the world. Also, I am interested in Chinese culture in general," Borisova said.

       Last year's winner of Bulgarian national "Chinese Bridge" qualifications, Radina Yanuzova, won second place in the world finals of the competition.