Learning Chinese is becoming popular in the Universiade Village in Longgang District, where more than 7,800 foreigners from more than 150 countries and regions are staying.

Foreign athletes learn to write their names in Chinese characters in the Universiade Village in Longgang Sunday, Aug 14.

Wherever you go, you can hear "nihao," (hello) "xiexie" (thank you) and "zaijian" (goodbye).

At the village Chinese Language Learning Center, about 80 foreigners a day are learning basic Chinese.

When a reporter took an electric cart and greeted Norwegian volleyball players in English, they responded in Chinese.

Volunteer Wang Wei at the Visitors' Center was taken aback when a French athlete said "ni henbang" (you are great) in Chinese.

"The French athlete had just finished a Chinese class at the center and started practicing," Wang said.

In the learning center classroom, calligraphy by foreign students is pasted on the walls.

"When we set up the language center, we were not sure if it would be popular, but now we know. It is a popular place for foreigners," the center management said.

Taavi Bekker, a student from Estonia, learns Chinese at the center for more than an hour each day.

"As long as there is no training, I stay at the training center. Learning Chinese and Chinese culture is very interesting, and combinations of Chinese characters have different meanings," said Bekker.

In addition to learning the language, many foreign students have taken an interest in traditional Chinese culture. Some have even asked volunteers interpret The Art of War, one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy by Sun Tzu of the late Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B.C.)