Children try to make Chinese paper cutting works during an activity titled "Chinese Culture and Technology Day" in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Nov. 11, 2023. The event was organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)

SOFIA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- An activity titled "Chinese Culture and Technology Day" was held here on Saturday.

The six-hour-long event was organized by the Confucius Institute in Sofia.

The audience in the hall of the 18th Comprehensive School enjoyed performances of traditional Chinese musical instruments, Chinese songs and dances, and Chinese martial arts.

Meanwhile, Chinese traditional crafts such as paper cutting and Chinese knots have also attracted the interest of many people.

Outside the hall, in the school yard, China-made cars were on display.

In a joint speech delivered in their respective languages, Liu Xiuming, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia and institute's Bulgarian Director Aksiniya Koleva said that the event aimed to organically combine millennia-old Chinese traditional culture and China's contemporary technological development, giving more Bulgarians the opportunity to immerse themselves in this culture, and at the same time to experience the rapid changes in modern China.

"Through this event, we hope to draw more people's attention to the development of the Confucius Institute, to the possibility of learning Chinese language, and the high level of teaching at the Confucius Institute," the two directors said.