The governing body of the Confucius Institute has given awards to two lecturers at its branch at the University of Aveiro in central Portugal, the university says.

The University of Aveiro announced in writing that each of the lecturers, Chen Xiaoping and Kang Siyu, received the Sino-foreign Language Exchange and Cooperation Centre Volunteer Teacher of Excellence 2020 award.

The university says the awards signify recognition of the breadth of the range of activities that its branch of the Confucius Institute has arranged.

The branch is marking the sixth anniversary of its founding by publishing the first of eight videos on Chinese gastronomy; and by holding a Routes to the East conference session attended by Luís Filipe Barreto, formerly president of the Macao Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon, and Fernanda Ilhéu, president of the New Silk Road Friends Association, the University of Aveiro says.