SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Over 200 students were awarded in San Francisco Friday for their performance in an annual Chinese language contest.

The 14th Chinese Language Cup Contest (CLCC) was held in San Francisco last month, featuring five categories ranging from Chinese calligraphy to Chinese poetry recital.

"Chinese is one of the oldest languages in the world and Chinese characters represent one of the oldest writing systems," Luo Linquan, Chinese consul general in San Francisco, said at a reception for the winners at the consulate general here.

Luo hoped that the schoolchildren would become China-U.S. friendship envoys, making good use of the language to promote mutual understanding and bilateral cooperation.

Nina Oliver, an eight-year-old from the California Connections Academy who won a prize for Chinese poetry recital, said she began to learn Chinese from the age of five.

The poem she chose was "Bidding Farewell" by Li Shutong, a pioneer of the Chinese new literature movement and a master painter during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Though she could not fully understand the poem, Oliver said she knew it was about the sadness of friends when they parted.

The CLCC was jointly hosted by the Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University and San Francisco Unified School District.