KATHMANDU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Nepal on Thursday hosted the "Chinese Bridge" language proficiency competition for college students in Kathmandu.

    This is the fourth Nepali edition of the global contest.

    This year's competition was organized by the Confucius Institute at Kathmandu University and the Chinese embassy in Nepal.

    According to the organizers, over 50 students had taken part in the initial round and 14 students selected from three educational institutions in Nepal were qualified for the preliminary round.

    Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong attended the ceremony to present awards to the winners.

    While addressing the ceremony, she expressed happiness over increasing interest of Nepali students in Chinese language and culture.

    "Language is a bridge to bring countries and people together. Since more Nepali students are learning Chinese, China will promote more youth exchange in the fields of education and culture in the days ahead," Yu said.

    In the preliminary round of the competition, the 14 college students went through rounds of tests and demonstrated their language skills.

   Two Bachelor students representing Kathmandu University were declared winners, who will travel to China to represent Nepal at the finals to be held later this year.

    Pratima Bhujel, one of the winners, told Xinhua: "I am extremely happy to win this contest. I will prepare well for the finals."

    The Chinese proficiency competition is held annually in different countries for non-Chinese students to encourage them to learn about China and enhance their understanding of Chinese language and culture.