Voyage of Discovery

By Rachel Richez

Every summer， youngsters from all around the world flock to Changsha， the capital of Hunan Province in south-central China. They come to take part in the Hanyu Qiao， or Chinese Bridge， an annual Chinese proficiency competition for foreign college students. The Hanyu Qiao evaluates foreigners language proficiency as well as their Chinese cultural knowledge.

From March to June， preliminary screenings were held in different parts of the world and 146 students from 108 countries qualified to participate in the final rounds held in China. Thirty of the finalists were from African countries. The last round of the prestigious competition， broadcast by Hunan TV， was held in Changsha on August 10.

A clear desire to build relationships between people emanated from the 15th edition of the Hanyu Qiao this year. This contest enables not only the participants to create a cultural bridge with Chinese audiences， but also young people worldwide to discover one anothers culture and live an incredible experience together for a month. The group of finalists arrived in Beijing on July 9， then traveled to Hunan where the elimination rounds started， reducing the number of participants to 30 at first and finally to five.

The global presence of the Chinese language competition was reflected by the nationality of the finalists representing five continents： Asia with Hsan Sandar Tun from Myanmar （also called by her Chinese name， Zheng Jiajia）； Africa with Egyptian Ahmed Magdy Abdelhamid （Da Wei）； Europe with Ukrainian Pavlo Zvenyhorodskyi （Zeng Ziru）； America with Andrei Zlotchevski from Canada （An Delie）； and Oceania with Australian Sean Patrick Hyatt （Hu Xiao）.

Hunans pride

In the first part of the final round， every contestant had to make a speech in Chinese presenting their personal story. It was a very emotional moment for the audience， particularly moving when Hsan， the youngest participant， talked about her parents sacrifices to pay for her Chinese lessons. The 18-year-old hopes her knowledge of Chinese will help her to find a good job.

In the last two segments of the competition， the finalists answered questions on Chinese culture and recited Chinese poetry， galvanizing the audience. After three hours， Zlotchevski was declared the winner. Speechless， the 21-year-old fell on his knees， raising his arms to the sky. Though coming from a Russian background， Zlotchevski grew up in French-speaking Quebec Province in Canada. Therefore， he speaks fluent Russian， French， English， and now Chinese. He still doesnt know if he wants to live in China or in Canada， but he knows that he has “many opportunities.”

Started in 2002 by the Office of Chinese Language Council International and the Government of Hunan Province， Hanyu Qiao has become the pride of the local people as well as a tool to promote Hunans culture and tourism while encouraging students to learn Chinese. And indeed， this province will always be remembered by the contestants.

Asked what he prefers in China， the Egyptian finalist， Abdelhamid， answered without a second thought： “I like choudoufu （“smelly tofu”） from Hunan. Its really chou（smelly） but its very good.” The Cameroonian participant， Sosthene Sedrick Tagne Kamga （Li Ke）， even found similarities between Hunan and his home country： “Particularly in the food. Here， in Hunan， they like it when the food is very spicy， very hot. I really enjoy it. They [the people of Hunan] are also welcoming to foreigners， as we are in Cameroon.”

A country of opportunities

The Hanyu Qiao is more than a language proficiency competition， its also an incredible moment of cultural exchange and a unique opportunity for the contestants.“Its wonderful. Its an amazing experience. This trip was not only my first time in China， but also the first time I went abroad！ Im filled with emotion， I made so many friends，”Kamga told ChinAfrica.

The 26-year-old decided to learn Chinese two and a half years ago， after a few failed attempts to pass a very popular general examination to become an English language teacher. His father was very skeptical about his chances of learning Chinese and refused to pay for his studies. But Tagne Kamga persevered and saved money to study in the Confucius Institute in Maroua in north Cameroon. He then took the exam for teaching Chinese and passed it in his first attempt. Kamgas relationship with China has only begun. Being among the 30 finalists won him a grant to study in China for a year. “Im really planning on coming back to perfect my Chinese before I start teaching it，” he said.

Cairo boy Abdelhamid also wants to come back： “I think I will stay in China for a few years. Because here everything is possible. If you do your best you will achieve your goal. China is the land of dreams for me.” The 21-year-old language student started learning Chinese four years ago， in addition to English， German and Afrikaans. “But I prefer Chinese to the other languages because its a little bit different，” he explained to ChinAfrica. Though at first his family was surprised by his interest in Chinese， they have been supporting him in his decision since the beginning. Abdelhamids interest became more personal after his first trip to China， when he fell in love with a Chinese girl. This， he said with a smile， has forced him to perfect his Chinese.

Representing Africa

Performances were held during the final， promoting cultural exchanges. An impressive kungfu demonstration featuring Chinese and Western aficionados who were joined by a group of Rwandan kids practicing the martial art. Invited from the central-east African country especially for the event， the kids impressed the public of Changsha.

This choice was significant as Africa is increasing its presence in the Hanyu Qiao. “Every year， there are more and more African contestants. Last year. I think it was about 20， this year it is 30！” Abdelhamid， who came third， said. “I didnt get the first place today but Im so happy that I am here. I participated in three or four rounds to come here and participate in this competition for one month. To be the last one here representing Africa， its pretty good.”Abdelhamid believes the increase in African participants can be explained by China-Africa relations： “I think China is really taking care of Africa. In Egypt， they give us a lot of chances to come to China to study and to work.”

The students left Changsha with smiles on their faces but already feeling nostalgic about that unique moment they shared. The words of the young Cameroonian summed up what could be read in their faces at the end of the evening： “Right now， I dont know if I should be sad or happy，” concluded Kamga.