SAO PAULO - Five years have passed since Rafael Papageorgiou won the Chinese Bridge language competition, but the experience is still fresh in his memory.

"The Chinese language has brought me many opportunities since I began learning it. China has become an indispensable part of my life," the Brazilian said.

Rafael was a student of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre when he started to learn Chinese in 2010 out of curiosity in the Chinese culture.