The Final Round of the 9th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students Held in Cuba

Havana, May 20th – The final competition for the 9th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students was held at the University of Havana. 9 sophomore students from the Confucius Institute at the University of Havana took part in the final competition.

The competition began at 9’o clock, the competition host Harvey introduced the five judges to the audience articulating in clear rich tones: Mdm. Gong Jiajia, Cultural Counselor of Chinese Embassy in Cuba, Li Ai, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute and Deputy Director Maribyr, Senior Teacher Zhang Lijie as well as Prof. Elyse from the Asian Arts History Department of the University of Havana.

Layimengde (pinyin), a student from the Confucius Institute started with an article recitation titled ‘China Today’, his popular song performance ‘Fairy Tale’, causing the audience to hum along. Daniela, who dressed up in Chinese Tibetan costume, sang the Road the Haven to the backdrop of Tibetan style dancers, allowing the audience to experience the unique plains flavor of western China. Jessica who graced the competition with her appearance in a pink cheong-sam recited the poem ‘By The Bank of Zhujiang River’. Ribel treated the audience eyes to a section of a gorgeous Chinese kung fu performance named the Fantastic Tai Chi Fan. Candidate Aiyilisi (pinyin) in white embroidered cheong-sam shared with the audience her personal experience of Chinese people’s New Year celebration, her Chinese New Year story most certainly entertained the audience a great deal, and so did her Chinese song performance entitled ‘I Only Care About You’.

The final competition ended with cheerful chatter and laughter, young candidates’ enthusiasm and love for China and Chinese culture has become a long bridge of friendship which sweeping over countless hills and streams, acted as a gift on the 50th Anniversary of Sino-Cuban diplomatic relations.