The Confucius Institute has now become a viable venue in promoting the Chinese language and culture throughout the world, according to Xu Lin, chief of the institute.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Xu, director-general of Hanban, which functions as the headquarters of the Confucius institutes worldwide, said that she and her colleagues are happy with what the Institute has achieved in so short a time.

"When we started to work out the development plan for the Confucius Institute about eight years ago, we never knew that it could turn out to be so popular, especially in Asia where the demand for Chinese language study and understanding of China is so huge," said Xu.

"For now, our original plan falls short and we are doing our best to accommodate the needs of our neighboring countries in Asia, " she added.

Xu made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing Joint Conference of Confucius Institute in Asia and Oceania.

The 3-day event, co-sponsored by Hanban and the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, gathers more than 260 representatives from 98 Confucius institutes and classrooms in the two regions and 11 foreign colleges which are currently cooperating with China in promoting Chinese language and culture.

As a non-profit public institution aligned with the Chinese government the Confucius institutes and classroom link up with local universities, colleges, and secondary schools across the world, providing both teachers and materials for their Chinese education. It also facilitates cultural exchanges between China and other countries.

According to Xu, by the end of 2011, Confucius institutes and classrooms worldwide have registered a total of 500,000 students.

Designing the future path of the Confucius Institute is on the top of the conference agenda. While stressing the importance of a long-term plan to the organization's sustainable development, Xu insisted that there is no single model that suits everyone.

"The Confucius Institute should serve the community it belongs and the local residents based on their actual needs and combined with the culture of its cooperating college or school," she said.

Xu noted that it was the first time a joint conference of Confucius Institute was held in Thailand. "It indicates that Hanban attaches great importance to the Chinese language education in the country and recognizes the achievements that have been made here," she said.

The number of Chinese learners in Thailand has soared from 80, 000 in 2003 to 800,000 now. Hanban has since dispatched around 8000 volunteer teachers to the country to address the so-called " Chinese fever."