China's first on-air Confucius Institute, the Confucius Institute of China Radio International, has taught more than 12,000 students around the world since its establishment in 2007, CRI said on Friday.

A ceremony was held in Beijing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the on-air institute.

In addition, 12 on-air Confucius classrooms have been produced in several countries, including Japan, Russia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Wang Gengnian, director-general of CRI, said that in the coming five years, there will be more on-air Confucius classrooms, in order to create a multimedia platform for the internationalization of Mandarin.