British students compete in Chinese language contest

By Sun Wei

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The annual world Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students kicked off Saturday at the British Museum in London. Twenty-eight candidates from 16 British universities competed in the 12th annual Chinese Bridge, an international contest organized by Hanban, which oversees the Confucius Institute.

"I would not be myself if I gave up learning Chinese," Anna Brunner, the Grand Prize winner from the School of Oriental and African Studies, told the Global Times. "The language itself is very beautiful. It makes you think in different ways and opens your mind."

Brunner will go to China with Meghan Ghent, the First Prize Winner from the University of Edinburgh, to compete in the finals with winners from other countries later this year.

"I am happy to go back!" Ghent said. Ghent studied Chinese for a year in Dalian, Liaoning Province, where, she explained, she learned to speak well by chatting with taxi drivers.

The competition consisted of three parts: a short speech, a demonstration of contestants' Chinese language proficiency and knowledge of China, and an artistic performance. Contestants sang Chinese songs, performed comedy routines and tongue twisters, and played Chinese musical instruments on stage.

Professor Yuan Boping, a judge from the University of Cambridge, spoke highly of this year's candidates, saying they represented the charm of the Chinese language very well in their speeches.

Shen Yang, minister counsellor for education with the Chinese Embassy in London, said in a keynote speech, "We consider language an indispensable skill of life, a vehicle of communication, and a bridge of understanding." A good command of another language opens a window of great opportunity, he added.