Thai students who learn railway Mandarin study in Wuhan, China. (Photo provided by the Khon Kaen University)

The China-Thailand high-speed railway Mandarin training course, an excellent example of Mandarin teaching combined with professional expertise, has so far trained a total of nearly 200 talents for Thailand, who know both Mandarin and railway-related technologies.

Specifically, the students will learn railway Mandarin for one month at the Confucius Institute of the Khon Kaen University in Thailand and then receive professional training for a year at the Wuhan Railway Vocational College of Technology in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province.

Learning railway Mandarin is helpful for the students to become experts in rail, said Hu Lin, director of the Confucius Institute of the Khon Kaen University.

The high-speed rail Mandarin training project originated from Thailand's increasing demand for talents in Mandarin and railway technology along with further cooperation between China and Thailand.

Thailand is not the only country demanding inter-disciplinary talents. Statistics show that more than 100 Confucius Institutes in over 40 countries such as Thailand and Malaysia have provided Mandarin courses in various fields, including high-speed rail, trade and economics, tourism, law and aviation.

In an attempt to sustain the development of Mandarin education, the Confucius Institute of the Khon Kaen University has also cooperated with vocational schools and designed online professional Mandarin courses such as railway Mandarin, logistics and e-commerce and electronic information technology.