A total of 157 foreign college students from 144 competition areas in 122 countries participated in the welcome ceremony of the 18th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students at the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing on July 23. The annual competition’s semi-finals and finals kicked off then. The competition will run until August 22.

On July 26 and 27, the speech contest and talent show of the “Cross the Bridge” Competition for the Asian, European, American, Oceanian, and African group contestants, were held at the Hunan Mass Media Vocational and Technical College. “Cross the Bridge” is part of the 18th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students.

The “Cross the Bridge” Competition consists of four parts: Chinese written exam (20% of the total score); Speech contest (30% of the total score); Judges’ interview (20% of the total score); and Talent show (30% of the total score).

During the speech contest part, contestants were required to make a 90-second Chinese speech on the theme of “One World, One Family”.

The challenging Q&A part assessed participants’ knowledge on China’s history, geography and culture. Their calm and composed attitudes and wide range of knowledge won rounds of applause from the audience.

During the talent show part, contestants presented singing, dancing, operas, recitation, calligraphy, Chinese martial arts, and other talents performances. Through these wonderful performances, they expressed their understanding and love for traditional Chinese culture. (en.changsha.gov.cn)