Across the Bridge to the Celestial Empire

On 14 May, the Belarusian State University of Foreign Languages hosted the final round of the qualifying stage of the 25th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for students of higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus. The competition was organised by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Belarus, with the Confucius Institute at BSUFL serving as co-organiser.

Welcoming addresses to the participants, instructors, and guests were delivered by Ms Song Yanping, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Belarus, and Natalia Lapteva, Rector of BSUFL.

The event was attended by the following distinguished guests and jury members:

- Mr Hu Yunbo, First Secretary of the Science, Education and Culture Section of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Belarus;

- Mr Yang Chengchao, Second Secretary of the Science, Education and Culture Section of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Belarus;

- Ms Elena Ignatovich, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs in International Cooperation and Internationalisation of Education at BSUFL;

- Ms Tatiana Demyanenko, Belarusian Director of the Confucius Institute at BSUFL;

- Ms Sheng Xuemei, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at BSUFL;

- Mr Sergei Oleinik, Dean of the Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture at BSUFL;

- Ms Liu Suling, Chinese Director of the Republican Institute of Chinese Studies named after Confucius at Belarusian State University;

- Ms Zhang Aijun, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at Francysk Skaryna Gomel State University;

- Ms Wang Xiaomei, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at Mogilev State University;

- Mr Tian Zhijiang, Chinese Director of the Confucius Classroom at Baranovichi State University;

- Ms Yin Mingjia, Chinese Director of the Confucius Classroom at Vitebsk Secondary School No. 44.

The international competition was held in two stages. During the preliminary online round, participants prepared a video presentation on the theme "One World – One Family" and presented creative performances. A total of 67 students from higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus registered for the competition, of whom 51 submitted their competition videos. After thorough evaluation by the jury, which included the Chinese directors of the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms of the Republic of Belarus, 12 finalists were selected to proceed.

The on-site stage consisted of two rounds and a super-final. In the first round, finalists delivered speeches in Chinese on artificial intelligence and its role in the modern world, demonstrating not only excellent language proficiency but also stage presence, well-reasoned articulation, and audience engagement. In the second round, participants showcased their knowledge of the Chinese language, culture, history, and traditions.

The final round featured thematic debates and an intellectual quiz, during which contestants displayed quick thinking, broad erudition, and a high level of Chinese-language competence.

The winner of the competition was Anastasia Gavrikova, a fifth-year student of the Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture. She will represent the Republic of Belarus at the world final of the 25th "Chinese Bridge" Competition, to be held this summer in the People's Republic of China.

The remaining placements were distributed as follows:

- 2nd place – Ksenia Kasperskaya (BSUFL) and Viktoria Shulgina (BSUFL);

- 3rd place – Polina Dubovik (Republican Institute of Chinese Studies named after Confucius), Ulyana Kovaleva (BSUFL), and Daria Drozdova (Confucius Institute at Francysk Skaryna Gomel State University).

Outstanding achievements were also recognised for:

- Sofia Trifonova (Belarusian National Technical University);

- Maria Olentyukevich (BSUFL);

- Milana Lukash (BSUFL);

- Polina Prudko (BSUFL);

- Anastasia Kramich (BSUFL);

- Svetlana Petruchik (A.S. Pushkin Brest State University).

The "Chinese Bridge" competition has for many years brought together students from around the world who are interested in the Chinese language and culture. For the participants, this competition is not only an opportunity to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in the language of the Celestial Empire, but also a chance to showcase their creative talents, share their personal perspectives on contemporary global developments, and present the culture of their own country in China.

BSUFL is proud of its students and wishes them every success in achieving outstanding results at the world final of the 25th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition!