The finale of the annual "Chinese Bridge" - Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Students (Belgium Division) was held here Saturday at the Chinese Center in Brussels.
Eleven high school and college students studying Chinese in Belgium participated in the event jointly organized by the Confucius Institute in Brussels and the Chinese embassy, conveying their passion and knowledge of the Chinese language and culture.
Zhang Sirui, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute in Brussels told the audience and the contestants that the competition is a special opportunity for students to demonstrate their master of Chinese language and culture.
The competition was divided into two parts - finale for high school students and finale for university students, each part included a speech on the theme "Dream Lights Future" and a talent show on Chinese culture.
Jacqueline Rossi, 14, from Brussels, won the competition for high school students, while Nicolas Pau, 23, from the University of Leuven, will represent Belgium at the finals in China.
"Even when I am back Belgium, I still feel my heart remains in China. Learning Chinese is part of my life now," Rossi said. She told the audience in her speech that she spent most of her childhood in Shanghai, which gave her the perfect opportunity to study multi culture.
"I feel proud to know both Chinese and Belgian culture, though the two countries differ from language and culture, they bring out the best in each other and each has its own merits," she said.
As a former Martial Champion of Belgium, Pau said that he started to learn martial arts at the age of 14 and since then he had dedicated himself to study Chinese. "I just feel grateful to find the best of my life in China."
While addressing the event, Tao Hongjian, head of the education section at the Chinese embassy to Belgium, said the promotion of Chinese culture in Belgium developed rapidly in recent years, and this provides a firm support to Sino-Belgian economic and cultural exchanges.
The Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students is an international contest organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban). Since its launch in 2002, this annual event has attracted more than 300,000 college students from over 80 countries. The "Chinese Bridge" has become an important platform for international college students to learn more about the Chinese language and culture. It is a bridge of understanding that links China to young people worldwide.
During the past decade or so, 14 Selection Contests have been held in Belgium. The winners of each year have been invited to the semi-finals and finals in China, with the chances of winning scholarships to further their studies of Chinese in China. In 2009, Belgian Contestant Hao Fei (Chinese name) won the worldwide Top Prize - Outstanding Award at the 8th "Chinese Bridge" Competition Final held in Changsha, China.
