What an incredible weekend at Kasteel Limbricht for the Chinese Bridge 2024!
Chinese Bridge, known in Chinese as the “汉语桥 (Hànyǔ Qiáo),” is a prestigious international Chinese language competition. The competition typically consists of various stages, such as the speech and a talent show with a Chinese element. It allows participants to not only showcase their Chinese language proficiency, but also their cultural understanding. The competition fosters international exchange and friendship, encouraging the participants to engage deeply with Chinese language and culture.
This is the second time for CIM to host a immersive weekend in preparation for the speech contest and talent show. The aim of this weekend is to fully immerse the participants in the Chinese culture and language, and support them with additional Chinese classes to take their speech to the next level.
Let us introduce you to our lovely participants!
An eventful weekend
Before the competition officially kicked off, participants were given a series of hands-on cultural workshops. These sessions offered a wonderful introduction to various aspects of Chinese art and tradition. For instance, Together with teacher Wang Cuina, from Confucius Institute Groningen, the participants created their own Beijing Opera masks. Furthermore, they tried their hand at Chinese flower painting, which was given by teacher Lu Xiang, also from Confucius Institute Groningen.
In preparation for the speech contest, participants received specialized training to enhance their language skills. Jinxin’s pronunciation classes were crucial, providing personalized feedback and techniques to perfect their spoken Chinese. Similarly, Zhang Bo’s Chinese error correction sessions offered valuable insights, helping participants avoid common pitfalls. These classes ensured that everyone felt confident and well-prepared for the competition.
On the second day of the weekend, the talent show was held. Our lovely participants prepared their talent related to Chinese culture and gave the audience an spectacular evening. The talents were diverse: Painting, rapping, tea ceremony, paper cutting, playing the violin, singing, calligraphy, playing the cello. It was very fun to watch!
On the last day, most of the participants were getting a bit nervous. Finally, the big moment arrived, when everyone performed their speech for the jury members. Eszter, Viktoria, Anna-Louisa, Floor, Caspar, Brady and Jona took turns talking about their passion for Chinese and their ideas about One World One Family (天下一家).
Some afterwords
“The three-day immersion weekend had it all. We had lessons in Chinese language and culture, and a talent show that made me feel like I was in China. I made new friends, improved my Chinese, and had an unforgettable experience. Can’t wait for the next adventure!” – Floor de Smit
“I really enjoyed having participated in the event. I learned a lot and I will definitely join again next time.” – Analouisa Gibbes
“For me, HYQ 2024 was incredible. The people were wonderful, the workshops contributed to our learning and were fun at the same time and the location of the castle made it all the more impressive. All activities were well balanced, so thanks to the CIM staff for arranging this spectacular event. “– Jona Prins
The winners of Chinese Bridge 2024
We want to thank them for their participation and the beautiful fun memories we made with each other. The immersion weekend was not only about the competition, but also about coming together and sharing the same interest and passion. It was about embracing the theme of the speech, 天下一家 (one world, one family)
1st Place Caspar Westerman
2nd Place Brády Jeronimus
3rd Place Jona Prins
Want to see more of the Chinese Bridge competition of this year? Take a look at our Instagram, we post all of the beautiful pictures and memories there.