On May 29 (local time), the Confucius Institute at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University successfully held the 20th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, the 14th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students and the first "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Show for Primary School Students North Macedonia Finals. Mr. Zhang Zuo, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia, Professor Nikola Jankulovski, President of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Valentina Gechevska，Vice President of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, as well as Confucius Institute teachers and students, overseas Chinese, representatives of Chinese enterprises and local people attended the competition.
Ambassador Zhang Zuo and President Jankulovski did speeches after the competition. Ambassador Zhang Zuo said that the exchanges between China and North Macedonia are getting closer, the increasingly North Macedonian youths are beginning to learn Chinese and understand Chinese traditional culture, which has played an important role in enhancing mutual understanding between two sides. In the past year, the Confucius Institute overcame the pandemic, adopted online teaching, started a local teacher program, and offered a wealth of Chinese courses, all of these made positive contributions to the educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between two countries. Ambassador Zhang welcomed everyone to visit China, make friends with the Chinese people, and enjoy the Chinese culture.
President Jankulovski said the Confucius Institute has attracted more and more students to learn Chinese and has become a communication bridge since its establishment eight years ago. After the outbreak of the pandemic, the Confucius Institute expanded its student base outside the capital Skopje through online teaching, which promoted a strong development. This year marked the second time for the CI to held the "Chinese Bridge" competition online. The talent displays and speeches of the contestants were brilliant and reflected the people's enthusiasm in learning Chinese. He hoped that the students and people of North Macedonia will have more opportunities to know and understand China.
This competition was divided into four age groups: adult group, college student group, middle school student group and elementary student group. It included three parts such as written examination, Chinese talent show, and keynote speech. More than 70 people signed up for the competition. Through the first two rounds, a total of 38 contestants entered the finals.
In the Chinese Talent Competition, the contestants were all gearing up and eager to try. They showed their love of Chinese through Singing, dancing, poetry recitatals, painting, paper-cutting, Chinese knot, Chinese cooking, Tai Chi, acupuncture and cupping. In the keynote speech part, the contestants of each group respectively focused on the themes of "One Family One World", "Pursue Chinese Langauge Dreams" and "Happy Chinese, Happy Childhood" to share their learning process and understanding of Chinese, which expressed their love and enthusiasm in Chinese learning. The fluent Chinese expressions and true emotions of the contestants were highly praised by the audience and judges.
After more than four hours fierce competition, Nevenka Gruevska, Anisija Ristoska, Jana Nikolovska and Viktorija Mihajlova won the first place in the adult group, university student group, middle school student group and elementary student group respectively. Liao Wei, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute, and Vlatko Stoilkov, Foreign Director of Confucius Institute, announced the results at the end of the competition.
This is the sixth time that the Confucius Institute held the "Chinese Bridge" Chinese competition, and it boasts the most complete age groups and contestants. This competition demonstrated the learning outcomes, enhanced mutual exchanges and expanded the influence of the Confucius Institute. It is believed that it can inspire more students in North Macedonia to learn Chinese. China Xinhuanet, North Macedonia News Agency (Mak Press) and many other local media reported News.
