SARAJEVO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for high school students was held online in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Sunday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three high school students from BiH's capital of Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the second largest city of BiH, won the top three places. Judges selected the winners through Chinese speech, talent, quiz on Chinese history and culture and dictation in Chinese.

Kevser Bukvic, who finished first in the contest, only started learning Chinese in February this year. As daughter of a Bosnian diplomat currently stationed in China, she has keen interest in Chinese culture.

"I can even imagine walking on the Great Wall and seeing its beautiful scenery. I also want to visit ancient Chinese temples, learn about Chinese history, and imagine myself as someone who lived at that time. I want to explore Chinese culture on my own," Kevser said in her speech entitled "My Chinese dream."

"Benefiting from closer economic and cultural exchanges between China and BiH, more and more Bosnians become interested in learning Chinese in recent years," La Weixin, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Sarajevo, told Xinhua.

In Republika Srpska, one of BiH's two entities, Chinese has already been included in the curriculum for primary and secondary schools, said La.

The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition is an international contest held yearly and sponsored by the Beijing-based Confucius Institute Headquarters, or called Hanban in Chinese, according to Hanban on its website.

It consists of three events -- "Chinese Bridge" competition for foreign college students, "Chinese Bridge" competition for foreign high school students and "Chinese Bridge" competition for foreign students in China.