Outstanding Contestants of 2017 “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students Visit Confucius Institute Headquarters

On July 11th, 145 college students from 112 countries around the world came to Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) upon invitation to attend the welcome ceremony of the 16th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students. Semifinals and finals of the annual “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students officially kicked off.

The students visited Chinese Culture Experience Hall at the Confucius Institute Headquarters and exhibition of achievements of the Confucius Institutes along the “Belt and Road”. They interacted with each other by utilizing multimedia and took group photos to mark the occasion or wore Hanfu and experienced roles of traditional Chinese opera characters. The youth from different countries communicated in Chinese, breaking the language barrier. They chatted and laughed cheerfully in excellent Chinese traditional culture atmosphere.

Ma Jianfei, Deputy Director of Hanban delivered a warm welcome speech. He noted that through language teaching and cultural exchanges, the Confucius Institutes have built bridges for people across the world to have empathy with each other and deepen their friendship. “Chinese Bridge” has provided a platform for Chinese learners around the world to show themselves and pursue their dreams. The theme of this year’s “Chinese Bridge” is “Dreams Enlighten the Future”, which aims at uniting young friends of each country to realize their dreams.

The competition co-sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the People’s Government of Hunan Province is organized by the Education Department of Hunan Province and Hunan Broadcasting System and co-organized by Hunan Satellite TV, Hunan Mass Media Vocational Technical College and Hunan Education TV Station. Based on language contest and cultural exchanges, the competition aims to strengthen interactions between Chinese and foreign youth and tell good Chinese stories to the world.

The competition set “Crossing the Bridge” games (written examination, speech and talent show), semifinals, finals and grand finals. The grand finals will be hosted in Changsha on August 12th, during which the global grand champion, continent champion and multiple individual awards of the year will be awarded.

“Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition includes “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary Students and “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreigners. Since its launching in 2002, the competition has attracted millions of young people from over 120 countries. Honored as “Olympics” of the Chinese language, the competition serves a “bridge of culture, friendship and mind” connecting the world, and an important culture brand in international people-to-people and cultural exchanges.