BEIJING, Sept. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --The 23rd "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students held its global finals and awards ceremony on Sept 2 in island county of Pingtan, Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province.

The event was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and the Fujian Provincial Government and organized by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. The Fujian Provincial Department of Education, the Fujian Media Group, Fujian Normal University and the Fujian Tourism Development Group served as co-organizers.

Dignitaries attending included Zhao Long, governor of Fujian province; Chen Jie, vice minister of the Ministry of Education and head of the National Language Commission; Zhang Yan, member of the Standing Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Li Xinghu, vice governor of Fujian province.

Also attending were leaders from various interested organizations, contestants, observers, international and Chinese students, as well as  members of the media.

Contestants Arujiang from Kazakhstan, Moli from Egypt, An Lihua from Venezuela, He Jieming from Belgium and Wang Xiaoshuai from New Zealand stood out as their respective continental champions and competed on the global stage. He Jieming from Belgium emerged as the global champion.

The finals consisted of four rounds, integrating elements of Fujian's "Fu" culture, maritime culture and history of international exchanges into the competition segments.

Each of the five continental champions, supported by one of the top 30 contestants, performed a program that blended their national characteristics with traditional Chinese culture, presenting an artistic expression of cultural exchange, where diverse cultures shine together in harmony.

The 23rd "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students officially launched in February this year.

After a series of rigorous selections during the overseas preliminary rounds, 147 contestants from 130 countries and regions competed in the global finals held in national capital Beijing and Fujian province, which included the preliminary, semi-final and final rounds.

Organized by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, since its inception in 2002, the "Chinese Bridge" series has attracted over 1.7 million young people worldwide who love Chinese.

During this year's event, contestants visited Beijing, Nanping, Ningde, Quanzhou, Fuzhou and Pingtan, gaining in-depth insights into the local history, culture, regional characteristics, ethnic customs and contemporary features.