On the afternoon of June 21, local time, the 17th World Student "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Competition Italy and San Marino Regional Qualifiers came to a successful conclusion in San Marino. Laura Gobbi, Director General of the University of San Marino, Massimo Brignoni, President of the Confucius Institute in San Marino, Barbara Terenzi, President of the San Marino China Friendship Association, and a number of Confucius Institute directors from Italy and San Marino attended the competition. 20 outstanding contestants from 12 Confucius Institutes in Italy and San Marino participated in the competition.
After a fierce competition, Beniamino Ravera, a student from the Confucius Institute at the National University of Milan, stood out and won the first prize, while Cristina Santonastaso, a member of the Confucius Institute at the University of Milan, won the "Best Talent Award" for her outstanding performance.
Figure 1 The guests presented the award to the overall champion Lang Boping
Figure 2 The guests presented the award to the contestant Chen Meina
Highlights:
Before the competition, the Counselor of the Education Department of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Italy and other guests delivered speeches, and then the wonderful competition officially began. The competition is divided into four parts: written test of Chinese cultural knowledge, topical speech, talent show and impromptu speech. The contestants showed their abilities, and the scene burst into applause.
The competition attracted wide attention from mainstream media at home and abroad, and Xinhua News Agency and RTV of the Republic of San Marino Radio and Television reported on the competition site in real time. After the competition, Lang Boping, the champion of the Confucius Institute at MI, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency. Lang Boping said that he has gained a lot from this competition, and he is especially grateful to the teachers of the Confucius Institute at Mi University for their strong support and hard work, which made his future trip to China more meaningful, and he will continue to work hard to study in China in the future.
Contestants:
In his keynote speech, Lang Boping affectionately told the story of his acquaintance and acquaintance with the Chinese language. "Marco Polo's Travels" opened the door for him to learn Chinese, the Confucius Institute at MI University built a platform for him to learn Chinese, and the 2023 Chinese Bridge observation trip inspired him to "China Dream". At the same time, his impromptu speech was also impressive, with the theme of "My Favorite Chinese Book". He talked about his understanding of "Introduction to Chinese Culture", his admiration for "red scholars" and his yearning for studying "Dream of Red Chambers", which won the admiration and warm applause of the audience.
Figure 3 Lang Boping gave a final speech
As the first contestant to appear in this competition, Chen Meina showed her solid foundation in Chinese and stable psychological quality with her fresh and refined temperament, calm aura and ethereal and graceful singing voice. Her guitar playing and singing "Slow Voice" seemed to take the audience into the misty Jiangnan water town, and after the song, the applause lasted for a long time.
Figure 4 Chen Meina plays and sings the guitar
Player Stories:
Since April this year, the Confucius Institute at MI University has been intensively preparing for the Chinese Bridge Competition, and among the many outstanding seeded contestants, Chen Meina and Lang Boping stood out and started the road of preparation for the competition with the tutors of MI Confucius Institute.
Meina Chen came from the Confucius Classroom at Manzoni Language High School under the Confucius Institute at Mi University, and her three years of Chinese language study not only helped her make warm and cheerful Chinese friends, but also attracted her to a broader world of Chinese culture and Chinese language learning. With the help of Confucius Institute teachers Wang Mengya and Chen Xiangming, Chen Meina actively prepared and practiced hard, and finally showed her unique personal charm with a calm mind and a solid foundation in Chinese.
Lang Boping's high school does not offer Chinese language classes, and since 2021, he has been studying in the evening Chinese class offered by the Confucius Institute at MIU. This is the second year that Lang has become acquainted with Chinese Bridge, and in 2023, he went to Sicily to observe the 16th Chinese Bridge competition as an observer of the Confucius Institute at Mi University. Based on his persistent pursuit of Chinese learning and deep love for Chinese culture, he persisted and courageously pursued his "Chinese dream", and continued to steadily prepare for the competition under the guidance of Liu Ruijie, a teacher of the Confucius Institute at MI University, listened to the suggestions of the teachers, constantly overcame difficulties, made steady progress, and finally won the championship in one fell swoop, taking a solid and powerful new step towards the future of Chinese learning.
Figure 5 Dr. Fu Haifeng, Director of the Confucius Institute at MI University, took a group photo with the participating teachers and students
After Allegra Mafrica, a player from the Confucius Institute at the University of Mi won the championship last year, the contestants selected by the Confucius Institute at the University of Mi won the championship again in 2024, fully demonstrating the hard work of the Confucius Institute at the University of Mi in promoting the development of Chinese education in Italy, and also demonstrating the centripetal force and cohesion of the teachers of the Confucius Institute at the University of Mi.
In the future, the Confucius Institute at MIU will not forget its original intention, inherit the excellent tradition, open up more paths, and continue to work hard to promote the sustainable development of Chinese education at the Confucius Institute, promote in-depth cultural exchanges between China and Italy, and strengthen friendly cooperation between China and Italy in language and culture education.
Figure 6 Group photo of guests, judges, teachers and students
Source: Confucius Institute at the National University of Milan