The Chinese Bridge competition isheld on Wednesday in Cairo,Egypt.[Photo/Xinhua]

　　As Ahmed Magdy from Ain Shams University finishes his 7-minute performance fusing traditional Chinese comedy with trendyChinese pop music, the grand hall of Cairo University echoes with thunderous applause.

　　More than 1,000 people have gathered on Wednesday morning, not only to witness thisyear's Egyptian final of Chinese Bridge-a language competition-but also to mingle withthe large community of Chinese-language learners in Egypt.

　　Chinese Bridge is not only a platform where students showcase their language proficiencybut also a festival for them to get together, says Han Bing, minister-counselor at theChinese embassy in Cairo.

　　Watching her students performing onstage, Rehab Mahmoud, director of the ConfuciusInstitute at Cairo University, speaks of how she perceives the change of Chinese learning inEgypt over time.

　　"When I went to Ain Shams to learn Chinese in 1988, my parents and friends were allshocked," she says. "They asked me why I picked this language when there were dozens ofother languages that were more popular."

　　The number of students at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University has increased from 30in 2007 to more than 1,500 in 2015, says Mahmoud.

　　Eleven students from seven universities took part in Wednesday's competition, but there are2,000 students learning Chinese from 10 universities across Egypt, says Han.

　　As the number of Chinese learners has sharply climbed in the country, the methods oflearning have also changed.

　　"When I was a student, we had two or three teachers from China-no textbooks, nodictionaries, no Chinese friends and, of course, no internet. The only way to make progresswas talking to Chinese teachers," says Mahmoud.

　　"Now everything has changed. Students not only learn Chinese language at the institute,but can also enjoy Chinese movies, TV shows and literature, among other things," she says.

　　"Now is the perfect time to learn Chinese."

　　Salma Ragab, a Chinese major at Cairo University, says: "I have watched many Chinesemovies and TV dramas online, including Love Is Not Blind, Jin Tailang's Happy Life and TheLegend of Zhen Huan, just to name a few. In fact, Chinese TV dramas are the new cool inEgypt."

　　As more Chinese TV dramas, movies, pop music and mobile apps become readilyaccessible to Egyptians, Chinese learners find the language gradually becoming a part oftheir lives.

　　"I have visited China three times, my best friend and girlfriend are both Chinese, and I wantto start my career in China after graduation," says Magdy, winner of the top prize onWednesday.

　　"So China is not only a dream but also a lifestyle."