(Barbados local time) At 9 a.m., 29 May 2018, the final competition of the 17th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students (Barbados zone) was held at the Confucius Institute of UWI Cave Hill campus (the CI in Barbados). The CI was co-founded by CUPL and UWI. The competition was co-sponsored by the Chinese embassy in Barbados and the CI in Barbados.
AmbassadorYan Xiusheng, Counsellor Zhou Xi from the Chinese embassy in Barbados, Principal Eudine Barriteau of UWI Cave Hill Campus and relevant officers from the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs attended the event.
（ Remarks by Principal Eudine Barriteau）
The theme of the competition was “universal family”. The competition had four parts: written test, speech contest, knowledge test and talent show. Nine contestants from UWI took part in the competition. The written test covered topics such as the Chinese culture, history, realities, geography and other common knowledge of China. The speech contest, which was full of surprises, vividly showed the magical bound between these nine contestants and China and the Chinese language. The talent show marked the highlight of the day.
Through the competition, the contestants demonstrated their enthusiasm and passion for learning the Chinese language and culture. All of them had prepared well before the competition and presented us with a banquet show of the Chinese Bridge competition. The contestants also showed their talents through various activities and the audience enjoyed themselves in this magnificent event. The contestants displayed their love in the Chinese culture and their special talents through singing, dancing, reading, traditional Chinese martial arts and Tai Chi arts. Their performances were combinations of static and dynamic movements as well as solid and soft actions. These fascinating moments were highly praised by the audience by rounds of applauses.
After the fierce competition, Ms. Ivana from the Law School of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, stood out as the Champion of this competition due to her fluent, beautiful and attractive speech, which demonstrated her solid knowledge of the Chinese language. Ms. Ivana’s capacity, calmness and her gentle temperament won the jury’s and audience’s recognition and won her high scores. She also sang a song, “A Praise to the Red Plum”, which displayed not only her deep understanding of the Chinese language, her unique voice, but also the charm and beauty of the the original work. Ms. Ivana will take part in the World Final of the 17th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in China to be held in July this year.
（Photo of Ambassador Yan Xiusheng and the Gold and Silver Medalists）
The former champion Mr. Philip of Barbados zone of the 16th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency competition for Foreign College Students was invented as guest of the competition. He shared his personal experience of the competition as well as his gains from it when he was in China last year. He also delivered his encouragement and blessing to the contestants for this year.
Ambassador Yan Xiusheng complimented the Chinese Bridge Competition as a superior platform for Barbadians to get a deep understanding of and a close connection with the Chinese culture. He also praised the contestants for their enthusiasm and outstanding Chinese proficiency. He expressed his wish that more and more Barbadians could acquire a deep understanding of China and get a closer look at China in the future. The friendship between our two countries has a deep root in the fruitful communication of language and culture and will definitely generate the most beautiful splendors.
