At 10:00 on May 18 (local time), the final of the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Language Competition for Mexico, hosted by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Mexican States, kicked off in Guadalajara. This is the first time for the Confucius Institute at University of Guadalajara to undertake the "Chinese Bridge" competition since its opening.
On the day of the competition, Ms.Wu Xiaoyan, the Education Commissioner of the Chinese Embassy to Mexico, the Foreign Director of the The Confucius Institute at the Autonomous Yucatan University, the Chinese and Foreign Directors of the Confucius Institute at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the Chihuahua Autonomous University attended the competition as special guests and judges.
In the competition, 7 middle school students from different Confucius Institutes showed their talents.The competition is divided into three parts: proposition speech, talent show and quiz. In the speech, the contestants shared their adventures with Chinese and experiences of learning Chinese around the theme of the competition “Pursuing Dreams in Chinese, Not Disappointed by Youth". In the talent show, the contestants left a deep impression on the audience by performing Chinese talents, such as Chinese dances, pop songs, paintings and melodramas. In the quiz session, the questions include Chinese history, geography, culture, current politics and other aspects. The contestants answered the questions fluently, fully showing their deep understanding of Chinese culture.
After the fierce competition, students from the Confucius Institute at the Autonomous University of Yucatan in Mexico won the first place in the competition, students from the Confucius Institute at the National Autonomous University of Mexico won the second place, and students from the Yucatan Alianz Comunidad Estudiantil Language School won the third place. Four contestants from the Confucius Institute University of Guadalajara and other middle schools in Guadalajara won the Excellence award. The two contestants from the Confucius Institute at University of Guadalajara left a deep impression on the judges and the guests at present even though they didn’t learn Chinese for a long time.
The competition provides a platform for young people in Mexico, who learn Chinese, to show their language ability, and to communicate with each other. It also inspires students' enthusiasm and interest in learning Chinese, and strengthening the bridge of cultural exchanges between China and Mexico.
