On May 16, the 2026 "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreigners Worldwide — Storytelling Contest's North China Preliminary Round concluded at Beijing Normal University (BNU). The event drew over 120 international students from 38 countries to compete on the same stage.

The year 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the "Chinese Bridge" initiative. To date, this competition has reached over 160 countries and regions worldwide, attracting more than 1.8 million young participants, and has become an important window for mutual learning and exchange between Chinese and foreign civilizations.

Kang Zhen, Vice President of BNU, remarking that the three-thousand-year-old Chinese ritual of welcoming guests had resounded anew at BNU with the arrival of young people from around the world. The Chinese language keeps tradition alive in the present and lets the world hear China. As one of China's earliest universities to launch international Chinese language education, BNU boasts a profound cultural heritage. Its hosting of this "Storytelling Contest" therefore carries special significance.

Liu Jianqing,deputy director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, noted that linguistic exchange brings hearts closer together in his address. The world today needs such a bridge of communication, and every contestant present is a builder of this bridge. He encouraged the participants to transcend cultural differences with sincerity, connect hearts through stories, and serve as grassroots ambassadors for friendly exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

During the competition, contestants from various countries took the stage one by one, each spending three minutes eloquently sharing their personal stories with the Chinese language.

Held concurrently with the competition, BNU's International Culture Festival saw international students showcasing traditional costumes, cuisines, and handicrafts from their respective countries, while performances of song and dance, folk music, and martial arts took to the stage in succession. The interplay between the competition and the festival created a vibrant atmosphere of multicultural exchange, merging the rigorous contest with lighthearted cultural immersion. Language learning was no longer confined to dry classroom exercises, but became a tangible, sensory-rich daily experience.

A judging panel comprising three experts—Professor Wang Xuesong from the School of lnternational Chinese Language Education at BNU, Dean Li Chunling from the School of International Cultural Exchange at Central University of Finance and Economics, and Associate Professor Zhu Yicheng from the School of Journalism and Communication at BNU—provided evaluations of the contestants' performances. 

Feng Liping, Dean of the School of lnternational Chinese Language Education at BNU, delivered concluding remarks, expressing her admiration for the contestants' outstanding performances and their heartfelt passion for the Chinese language. She extended an invitation to all participants, expressing hope that they would grow from storytellers of today into future ambassadors of friendly exchanges between China and the world, and warmly welcomed them to visit Beijing Normal University often.