China's Consul-General in Songkhla Zhou Haicheng (R) meets with TAT's Hat Yai director Panu Woramit, Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Alan is a 43-year-old Chinese language tour guide in Thailand. As a third- generation Chinese immigrant, Alan finds that being able to speak Chinese language becomes more important as Thailand grows into an increasingly popular tourist destination of the Chinese people.

China's Consul-General in Songkhla Zhou Haicheng said: "After China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, China's connection and human exchanges with the economic zones in the east and south of Thailand become increasingly intensive." Southern Thailand, in particular, has seen a wave of Chinese language learning.

Last December, the Confucius Classroom at Srinakorn School in Thailand won an "excellence" award, given by the Chinese government, out of more than 1,000 Confucius classrooms from over 140 countries.

The Chinese language learning activities organized by the school attract more than 2,000 participants from dozens of schools in southern Thailand.

Government data shows a significant portion of the 9.7 million people in Thailand's south has at least one-fourth Chinese blood. Many philanthropists with Chinese kinship actively support Chinese language education.

Also, China has close trade relations with the southern part of Thailand in the rubber, fruit and tourism industries. Last year, Chinese travelers made more than 3.5 million trips to Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui.

In April, a Kunming-Hat Yai direct flight was launched. Tourism officials in Hat Yai hope China's Consulate General in Songkhla can offer Chinese language training to people working in the tourism industry in Hat Yai and Songkhla, so as to better serve Chinese tourists.

Zhou Haicheng said the consulate general will actively support the Chinese language training as well as the tourism development in the south of Thailand. He also wants the Thai authorities to strengthen tourism market supervision, improve service quality and ensure the Chinese tourists' personal and property safety.