Cardiff Confucius Institute student participates in 2018 Chinese Bridge Competition

On 24th March Cardiff University student Marc Darrell took part in the UK Regional Final of the Chinese Bridge competition in London.

The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, organised by Hanban, has run successfully for 17 years. It has become an important platform for students to learn Chinese and understand China through language and culture exchange. During the competition this year, an on-site job fair was also organized by Chinese-funded enterprises as a new platform for UK students to seek employment opportunities in China.

More than 600 people witnessed the competition this year, including Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, leaders of the British Council, directors of over ten Confucius Institutes in the UK, representatives of Chinese and British enterprises, and teachers and students of the participating schools.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Liu affirmed the positive role of the Confucius Institutes in UK in promoting China-UK cultural exchanges. At present, there are 29 Confucius Institutes and 156 Confucius Classrooms in the UK, all of which have a responsibility to teach Chinese language and culture and all of which are able to enter students to the Chinese Bridge competition.

Supported by Cardiff Confucius Institute, Cardiff University student Marc Darrell was one of 30 students from across the UK to gain a place in the semi-finals of the competition. During the competition, students were asked to demonstrate their understanding of Chinese language and culture in different skill sets, including speeches on selected topics, talent shows and impromptu question and answer sessions.

Although he didn't make it to the final ten this year, Marc was awarded the 'Enthusiastic Participation Award' to celebrate his achievements and his hard work in learning Chinese. Gareth David Erskine and Samuel Peter Robbins from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, were respectively awarded the Grand Prize and the First Prize.

Ambassador Liu said he hoped that the competition would build a bridge of cultural exchanges, spiritual communication and friendly cooperation. He also encouraged the young contestants to become friendship envoys to promote the connection between people in China and the UK