This Portuguese town is making Mandarin mandatory in schools Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish maritime trade with China. Now, 500 years later, a small town in northern Portugal is counting on its youth to secure a position in the world’s fastest-growing economy. #SaoJoaodaMadeira, #Portugal’s shoe-making capital, has just made #Mandarin a #compulsorycourse for its 8- and 9-year-old children. They expect to ensure the local shoe industry’s future by doing so, as China is becoming a potential market for their products. It only took two years for the exports of Portuguese footwear to China to soar from 10,000 pairs (2011) to 170,000 pairs (2013), reaching sales of 5.4 million Euros ($6.7 million). Read more: cctvnews.cn/2014/11/03/this-portuguese-town-is-making-mandarin-mandatory-in-schools/
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:46:50 +0000
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