In the morning of August 24th, 2018, the 11th “Chinese Bridge” contest for high school students – the first qualification round in Viet Nam took place at Vu Dinh Lien Amphitheater – the University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi (ULIS – VNU). Nguyen Ha Dung – a student of the class 12P of FLSS won a special prize of this contest and became one of the two candidates to compete in the International Chinese Bridge contest in China in October 2018.

The theme of the “Chinese Bridge” contest for high school students this year is “Studying Chinese – Friends from all continents”. This is an annual activity organized by Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) in more than 50 countries from the 5 continents all over the world. In Vietnam, this is an opportunity for high school students majoring in Chinese to show their ability in using the language as well as knowledge of the country, the culture and the people of China. The contest is also a place for teachers and students to meet up, exchange knowledge, gain experience and connect with friends from around the world.

In the opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Ngo Minh Thuy, ULIS’s Vice President, Head of the organizing committee extended her warm greetings to all contestants and expressed a strong belief that the contest would be a great opportunity for students to show off their best ability and have some meaningful memories in their life as students. She also states that the students will be “the bridge” connecting the cultures of Vietnam and China. ULIS, a leading traditional and prestigious university in teaching Chinese and other foreign languages, is very honored and proud to host this contest.

Addressing in the contest, Mr. Peng Shi Tuan, The Dean, Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of China in Vietnam emphasized that “Chinese Bridge” has become a special cultural bridge, connecting China with other countries all over the world. For Vietnam and China’s sake, this is a friendly bridge of which the students majoring in Chinese would be future spans of this bridge. He hoped that through this contest, the Chinese study movement in Vietnam would develop even further.”

Participating in the contest are 14 students of Chinese language featureing in 7 different teams from 6 specialized schools in Vietnam (FLSS, Ha Long specialized high school (Quang Ninh), Tran Phu specialized high school (Hai Phong), Hoang Van Thu specialized high school (Hoa Binh), Bac Giang specialized high school (Băc Giang), Thai Nguyen specialized high school (Thai Nguyen). Contestants must demonstrate their abilities of expression and understanding the social knowledge about China and showcase their talents. In addition to personal abilities, they also have to show their great team-work skills to be able to complete the contest as well as creating the team’s style to impress the judges. Through constant cheers and applause from the audiences, the contestants likely created a vibrant and attractive atmosphere in the amphitheater.

The contest had 3 rounds: Round 1 (Eloquence), Round 2 (Answering question about Chinese culture) and Round 3 (Showcasing talents). The contestants demonstrated their Chinese fluency and diverse talents through different types of art such as singing, dancing, calligraphy, puppetry, shade dancing, trumpeting, martial arts, etc. After three intense rounds, two teams from FLSS excellently won the first and third prize for teams. In terms of individual prizes, the special prize went for Nguyen Ha Dung – class 12P, two of the second prizes and one of the third prizes also went for FLSS’s students. Hence, Nguyen Ha Dung will become one of the two contestants representing Vietnam to participate in the final round of this contest which will take place in China this October.

Some of the photos in the contest:

           Mr. Peng Shi Tuan and Mrs. Ngo Minh Thuy are having a group photo with all of the contestants

                                         Audiences are watching the contest in the amphitheater

                        Some exceptional performances and dedates delivered by the contestants

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