The 12th "Chinese Bridge" World Middle School Chinese Competition was held at Sias University beginning on November 28. The competition was sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters and the People's Government of Henan and was organized by Henan's Department of Education, the People's Government of Zhengzhou City, and Henan Radio & Television Station. It brought nearly 300 teachers and students from 105 countries to Sias where they experienced a wide range of traditional Chinese culture including dragon and lion dances, calligraphy, tea art, and various Chinese musical instruments.
Sias held a welcoming ceremony in the Auditorium of the Library which was presided over by the Vice Dean of the School of International Education, Wang Jing. Sias Executive President, Wang Jialin, delivered a welcome speech and spoke about the development of Sias over the past 20 years and its educational philosophy that combined Chinese and Western characteristics. He said that as an international university, Sias was committed to the development and promotion of Chinese education. Sias had a large number of international students through the past 20 years who understand and speak Chinese. He said that Sias had become a goodwill ambassador that spread culture, tore down barriers, and brought people closer. He said that he hoped that the cultural experiences at Sias would help the visiting teachers and students learn more about Chinese culture and understand China and Henan.
Students and teachers from Sias carefully prepared a variety of traditional Chinese cultural experiences for the visitors at the CUBA Training Facility and the Chinese Garden, among other places. These included dragon and lion dances, Taiji, oracle bone inscriptions, tea art, and mask painting. Teachers and students from all across the globe were able to get a hands-on experience of Chinese culture and interact with each other in the cross-cultural platform provided by Sias. In addition to the presentations of Chinese culture, the visiting teachers and students were able to tour the Sias campus including its gardens, teaching facilities, and library.
The "Chinese Bridge" World Middle School Chinese Competition is a part of a series of large-scale international Chinese competitions that include "Chinese Bridge" World College Students Chinese Competition, "Chinese Bridge" World Middle School Chinese Competition, and the "Chinese Bridge" World Global Foreigners Chinese Competition. Since 2002, the "Chinese Bridge" series of competitions have attracted over 1.4 million young people from over 150 countries to participate in what has come to be known as the Chinese "Olympics", and has become a well-known activity in the field of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, becoming a bridge of culture and friendship.
The 12th "Chinese Bridge" World Middle School Chinese Competition was themed "Hand-in-Hand with the Chinese, Building a Dream for the Future". Over 120 contestants from 105 countries from 5 continents participated in the second round and the finals of the competition. Over 140 students, teachers, and workers in the field of culture and education also participated in a series of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in Beijing, Zhengzhou, and other ancient capital cities.
Sias University has used this opportunity to promote traditional Chinese culture, while continuing to expand its international exchanges and cooperation, increasing its educational resources, contributing to the opening up of Henan, and promoting cultural exchanges between China and other nations across the world.
