Turkey hosts 14th Chinese language competition

A girl records the Chinese language competition held at Middle East Technology University in Ankara, Turkey, May 23, 2015. The 14th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Turkish university students opened in Middle East Technology University here on Saturday.

The 14th "Chinese bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Turkish university students opened in Middle East Technology University here on Saturday.

"My Chinese dream," which is the topic of the contest, attracted 25 students, who have past the writing test in the morning, to give their own story about their connection with Chinese language and culture.

"The world is so big, I want to go to china and have a look," the sentence which is quite popular on Chinese web, was used in Arad's speech about why he chose to learn Chinese.

Dance of Little Apple, the most popular song in China in 2014, and the drunken beauty of leading Chinese opera performer Li Yugang, among other famous Chinese songs and dances, were included in the performance list of the competitors.

The show of famous poetry "To the Oak Tree" written by Chinese poet Shu Ting helped Gullu from sinology department of Ankara University to win the first runner-up and gain a chance to go to China, a dream she has been trying to fulfill for a long time. "I love Chinese poem and songs and I wish to go to China to get my master degree," Gullu said.

Zeynep, the girl who won the ticket to the world "Chinese Bridge" competition host annually by Hanban in Beijing, was very excited after the contest. "I am fascinated by Chinese culture and I could even touch the pulse of this dragon. Now I have a chance to improve my Chinese by communicate and compete with the students from other countries in China. What a dream come true!" she said.

Wu Changqing, the headmaster of Confucius institute in Middle East Technology University which held this year's "Chinese bridge" competition together with the Chinese embassy to Turkey, said that "The quality of the competition is higher than last year because it is harder to choose better students through writing test and speech competition. The number of Turkish students interested in studying Chinese is increasing these years which force the competitors to learn harder to win the champion."

"'Chinese bridge' is not only a contest among Turkish students but also an important pillar of the bridge of social, cultural and economical relationship between Turkey and China, which will definitely benefit Chinese and Turkish people," said Yu Hongyang, the Chinese ambassador to Turkey.