When 4-year-old Prince George started his first day of school in September. Chinese language was on his curriculum(课程).
And he wasn't alone. It is reported that about 51 percent of the parents in the UK want their children to learn Chinese, as it's believed to be one of the most useful languages to know.
In the popularity of Chinese drove the UK government to start the Mandarin Excellence Programme in September last year. It aims to make at least 5.000 British state secondary school students be good at speaking Chinese by 2020.
Yet, the UK isn't the only country showing a growing interest in Chinese.
The language has become the second most spoken foreign language in the United States this year, after only Spanish, with over 2.1 million speakers.
Many US famous people such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Malia Obama, former US president Barack Obama's daughter, study Chinese as a second language.
So far, 67 countries and regions have included Chinese in their national curriculum. So why are so many countriesenthusiasticabout learning Chinese?
One reason could be that as China continues to develop rapidly. Chinese is increasingly becoming a useful tool for people's personal and professional growth.
"I think everyone believes that Chinese will be the next great superpower…even if it's not a superpower like America. It's still very important." Aisling from Germany, who studied at the Renmin University of China, told Xinhua News Agency.
