On 6th June 2024, the British Library saw the opening of the 23rd ‘Chinese Bridge’ Chinese Proficiency Competition UK Regional Final (Chinese Competition hereafter) and the 4th Chinese Competition of Charitable Projects & Business Innovations for UK University Students (Business Chinese Competition hereafter).

Professor Mei Yang, the Chinese Director of Lancaster University Confucius Institute (LUCI hereafter), led a seven-member delegation to London to participate in the Competitions.

The competition was fierce and the performances outstanding. With persistent effort and thorough preparation, our LUCI students stood out from the intense competitions, achieving impressive results.

The ‘Chinese Bridge’ Chinese Proficiency Competition for Non-Chinese University Students is a large-scale international contest organised by the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Education, serving as an important platform of exchange for international university students learning Chinese and a link between them. The Competition tests the contestants’ Chinese language proficiency, knowledge of China, Chinese cultural skills and the Chinese language-related comprehensive abilities in the format of Mandarin speeches, quizzes, Chinese cultural artistic performances and mini-video presentations.

Mojolaoluwa Godsfavour Olusola-Niyi, a second-year law student at Lancaster University, participated in both the Chinese Competition and the Business Chinese Competition. Daisy May Lord and Femi Akintemi, both first-year Chinese majors at Lancaster University, competed in the Chinese Competition. Confident and composed, the three LUCI contestants showcased their good Chinese proficiency in the semi-finals and finals.

In the speech contest, the contestants gave eloquent talks expressing their unique understanding of Chinese language and culture. Mojolaoluwa delivered a speech discussing the similarities and differences between Nigerian, British and Chinese cultures, inspired by her love for Chinese TV series. Daisy’s speech drew on her working experience at a Chinese restaurant to discuss culinary cultures in China and the UK. Femi’s speech reflected on her travels in China and her experiences on high-speed trains.

In the Business Chinese Competition, Mojolaoluwa shared her experiences and future aspirations as a blogger on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), an Instagram-like Chinese social media platform.

Their excellent performances, composed demeanour and witty responses won warm applause from both the judges and audience, which also attracted an interview by a reporter from CGTN (China Global Television Network).

This year’s ‘Chinese Bridge’ competitions concluded successfully, with LUCI bringing home fruitful results. Mojolaoluwa Godsfavour Olusola-Niyi won third place in both the Chinese Competition and the Business Chinese Competition. Daisy May Lord advanced to the finals and demonstrated her remarkable talent. Femi Akintemi advanced to the semi-finals and excelled in her first competition. The poise and perseverance displayed by the students and teachers underline the teamwork and possibilities for the future. We look forward to even more outstanding achievements from Lancaster University Confucius Institute in the years to come!

Congratulations to Mojolaoluwa Godsfavour Olusola-Niyi, Daisy May Lord and Femi Akintemi for their outstanding performances, composure and persistence!

A big thank you to our LUCI team for their support of this event. We would like to extend our appreciation especially to Professor Mei Yang, Joly Juan Xiao, Wei Song and Ying Li for their planning and tutoring, to Hui Jing from Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts for his artistic support and to Alex Ziwei Yin for his technical support.