From a tin of tea to Chinese champion

Gradually, he realized that mastering Chinese was about more than vocabulary and grammar. The real challenge was learning to think and respond naturally in the language.

That lesson proved crucial when he entered Chinese Bridge.

At first, Petersen regarded the preliminary competition in Germany simply as a chance to test himself. But after winning the German division, he began preparing seriously for the global finals.

He realized he was effectively facing two competitions: one testing Chinese-language ability and the other knowledge of Chinese history and culture.

He developed two parallel study plans, strengthening his listening, speaking, reading and writing while systematically reviewing Chinese history, idioms and cultural knowledge.

On trains in Germany, he could often be found studying idiom cards designed for Chinese primary school students. Rather than simply memorizing their meanings, he traced the historical figures and stories behind them.

The preparation eventually brought him to the final stage.

In the talent show, Petersen sang and played the drums to Tuotai Huangu (A Complete Transformation), a song from the animated film I Am What I Am 2. The film's spirit of perseverance had deeply influenced him when he first watched it during his year of study at Peking University. Throughout the exhausting months of preparation, rehearsing the song repeatedly reminded him not to give up.

After four rounds of competition, Petersen and American contestant Elijah Scott Marx advanced to the final round, a rapid-fire contest of 20 questions. Petersen eventually won by a margin of one question.

Yet the competition was about more than a championship.

Contestants from different countries used Chinese to share their experiences, ideas and views of the future.

Speaking about artificial intelligence and creativity, Marx says, "The most important thing is that humans must hold the steering wheel."

Kai Shand Marsh of Australia reflected on his experience with lacquer-thread sculpture and compared language learning to a voyage of self-growth.

"Learning a language is a journey of cultivating the mind," he says. "Don't rush and don't be anxious. The slow work that may seem clumsy will eventually become the foundation on which we communicate with the world."

For Petersen, some of the most memorable moments came off the competition stage.

In Pingtan, participants planted 25 friendship trees and five trees symbolizing affection and remembrance. But the tea gardens of Fuzhou held particular meaning for him.

As a teenager, Petersen had first become fascinated by Chinese characters because of the fu on a tea tin. Now he had arrived in Fuzhou, the birthplace of Fuzhou jasmine tea, where he could pick and process tea himself and learn the customs surrounding the tea table.

"If I had come to China by myself, I definitely wouldn't have had access to experiences like these," he says.

Chinese characters, tea and culture had moved beyond the textbook and become something he could touch, taste and experience firsthand.

Following his victory, Petersen began an internship with a German company in Shanghai.