Contestants from all over the world participate in the overseas preliminary competition of the 16th Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students and the 3rd Chinese-Bridge Chinese Show for Foreign Primary School Students. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 16th Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students and the 3rd Chinese-Bridge Chinese Show for Foreign Primary School Students will be held between Oct 16 and 31 in Beijing and Yunnan province to promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and deepen mutual learning and understanding.
Held by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, the competition attracted 45,000 primary and secondary school students. In the end, 168 students from 97 countries stood out and came to China for the global finals. This is the largest number of participating countries and contestants to date.
Compared to previous competitions, this year's highlights cultural, communicative, experiential, and entertaining aspects. It combines study tour, language and cultural assessment, and interactive experience.
The participants will enjoy visits to Beijing, Dali and Kunming in Yunnan as they complete the competition. The secondary school event uses a multi-round elimination system, with competitions in academic knowledge, speech, and talent.
The primary school activities will focus on showcasing the participants' Chinese language proficiency and mastery of traditional Chinese arts such as singing, dancing, instrumental music, acrobatics, calligraphy, painting and martial arts. Primary school students will also participate in four open classes and a talent show.
Five continental champions, one overall champion, and several awards will be selected in both the secondary and primary school categories.
Throughout the event's history, more than 350,000 primary and secondary school students from various countries have participated in the preliminary rounds, and more than 3,200 of these students, from over 110 countries, have been invited to participate in the global finals in China or online. The competition has received continuous attention from students and Chinese language learners worldwide and is hailed as the "Chinese Olympics."
