2023 'My Story of Chinese Hanzi' international competition closes successfully

Li Xikui, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), delivers a speech at the final of the 2023 "My Story of Chinese Hanzi" international competition held in Jincheng city, north China's Shanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Lu Pengyu)

The final round of the 2023 "My Story of Chinese Hanzi" international competition, themed "家园" (Homeland), came to a successful conclusion in Jincheng city, north China's Shanxi Province, on Sept. 14, 2023.

The competition kicked off in June this year, and attracted over 3,000 contestants from more than 70 countries around the world.

After the preliminary and semifinal rounds, 10 finalist teams from Poland, Kenya, Pakistan, Chad, Nigeria, Ghana, Laos, Sudan, Mongolia, and Russia were selected to compete in the final held in Jincheng. Using fluent Mandarin Chinese, the contestants expressively shared their visions of an ideal "homeland" during the last round of the competition.

A total of nine judges, including renowned professors, a famous writer, and experts in Chinese language and culture, were invited to score the contestants’ performances. They evaluated the contestants on criteria including proficiency in Chinese, storytelling skills, core values in their stories, and contribution to exchanges between civilizations.

After an intense and exhilarating competition, Ojimmadu Raphael Ebube from Nigeria won the Grand Award, while Sejoud Isam Mahir Hassan from Sudan and Lydia Nduta Njoroge from Kenya won the First Prize.

Champions of the Australian and South Korean divisions of the competition also took part in the final and made their acceptance speeches.

Under the theme of "家园" (Homeland), the event aimed to promote ideas that are valued in Chinese civilization, such as "The whole world is one family," "All people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions," and "Harmony among all nations".

The event served as a platform for sharing the Chinese people's aspiration to promote harmonious coexistence between civilizations and build a beautiful world together with people of various countries of the world.

Many officials from the host and organizers of the competition attended the final of the event. Li Xikui, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), delivered a speech at the final round. He emphasized the significance of mutual respect and learning between civilizations for the progress of mankind and the harmony and prosperity of the common homeland of humanity.

The competition was hosted by CPAFFC and co-organized by People's Daily Online, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Jincheng Municipal Committee, the People's Government of Jincheng Municipality, and Shanxi House of the Huangcheng Chancellor Group.