BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- The Xinjiang autonomous region will train a further 16,000 bilingual teachers for elementary schools over the next six years, the Xinjiang Education Bureau announced.Zhao De Zhong, an official with the bureau, said the central government set up the national Uygur-Mandarin teaching plan in 2003.

    It aims to encourage Xinjiang native teachers to teach both languages as a way to safeguard culture and promote the national standard.

    Mandarin is the official language of China, and Uygur is the local language of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Both languages have completely distinct written and spoken forms. Bilingual teachers are in short supply in the region. Since 2003, China has invested 130 million yuan, or 19 million U.S. dollars, to train bilingual teachers for elementary and high schools. In 2008, Xinjiang reported having 18,000 bilingual teachers. Its schools held roughly 5,000 bilingual classes with 150,000 pupils.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xinjiang.