Chinanews, Beijing, July 9 – The Chinese Class for African Education Officials, hosted by the Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, was concluded on July 6, 2007, with 35 officials from 19 African countries having completed the course study. Most of these officials had never been to China, but now, all of them can speak simple Chinese.The Ministry of Commerce initiated the teaching project, aiming at training qualified teaching faculty of Chinese language for African countries. The trainees aged between 24 and 44, all come from educational backgrounds such as colleges, institutions, government departments, etc.They learned Pinyin (Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet), oral Chinese, calligraphy and computer skills in the past 2 months. Special training on aural comprehension was given, too. Between class sessions, the college arranged special tours for them to visit many scenic spots in Beijing, Chongqing and Sichuan Province to experience Chinese culture as well as the Chinese lifestyle themselves.Before returning to Africa, the officials sent a letter to the Ministry of Commerce, expressing their gratefulness to China, and their determination in popularizing Chinese language and culture back in their countries.