On May 25th, the 18th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students, Sri Lanka Division, successfully concluded. Ms. Ji Lili, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy, Hon. Senevirathna, Deputy Minister of Education of Sri Lanka, contestants, parents, and teachers, totaling nearly 200 people, attended the awarding ceremony held in Colombo.

The competition, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka and co-organized by the Lumbini Confucius Classroom and CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Ltd., was the first to be held in Sri Lanka since 2020. It attracted 182 enthusiastic Chinese language learners from 43 secondary schools across 13 cities on the island. With the theme "Fly High with Chinese" the competition comprised three main segments: Chinese speech, Chinese culture knowledge quiz, and talent show. Participants eloquently shared their stories with the Chinese language, demonstrating their understanding and love for Chinese language and culture. Through various performances such as Chinese songs, Kuaiban (clapper talk), drama, martial arts, calligraphy, painting, paper-cutting, and dance, they fully showcased the unique charm of Chinese culture and their individual artistic talents. Out of the 182 contestants, 15 advanced to the finals. After three rounds of intense competition, Minghui (Yoshika Gunarathna) from Visakha Vidyalaya won the championship with her fluent Chinese and exquisite Kuaiban performance of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King," earning unanimous praise from judges and the audience. She will represent Sri Lanka in the global finals of the "Chinese Bridge" in China.

The "Chinese Bridge" serves as a platform for cultural exchange and friendship among young people from China and other countries. Through this competition, Sri Lankan students not only showcased their excellent Chinese language abilities and artistic talents but also deepened their understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture.