Tanzanian college students shine in Chinese language competition

DAR ES SALAAM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students was held on Wednesday in Tanzania's port city of Dar es Salaam, with students from schools across the country proving their prowess in the language.

"This is my lifetime achievement," said Amani Njohole, a sophomore at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education. He was declared the winner after competing with 11 other contestants.

Njohole, who will travel to China later this year to participate in the global finals of the Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition, told Xinhua that he is looking forward to his first and exciting trip abroad.

"My trip to China will allow me to expand my knowledge of the Chinese language and culture, as my burning ambition is to become a Chinese language teacher in Tanzania," said the 23-year-old student.

The competition was sponsored by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, and hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam.

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian said the "Chinese Bridge" competition aims to stimulate the enthusiasm of young people from all countries to learn Chinese, promote the global teaching and learning of Chinese, and build a platform for language and cultural exchanges between China and other countries.

"It has played an important role in promoting cultural learning, people-to-people communication and mutual understanding between China and the world," Chen said.