CCTV news: The Grand final and the awards ceremony of the sixth “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for International Students in China were held successfully on August 24 and then relayed to the world on CCTV-4 at 19:00 on August 31, which marked the official conclusion of the Chinese competition. Chen Di from Benin won the gold medal with excellent performance, Ma Jiamu from the UK the silver medal and Xinyue from Egypt the bronze medal. Hao Ping, the Vice Minister of Education, Xu Lin, Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters and Director-General of Hanban, and Wei Dichun, deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and deputy director of CCTV attended the final and the awards ceremony, presenting awards to winners.

The 2013 finals comprised of four stages. For the purpose of being fair and just, in the first three stages, the players were marked by the audience on-site, and their scores were accumulated. In the last stage, the three instructors gave their 30 scores to their favourite players. The instructor from CCTV news anchor group was Li Ruiying.

The first stage was called “I love China”, in which contestants were asked to talk about their love for China. Xinyue, “Granddaughter of Cleopatra”, detailed her friendship with a Chinese elder; “British gentleman” Ma Jiamu introduced the warm family of his Chinese mother; Chen Di, for the first time, related his once “everlasting love for China”, from loving his girlfriend to knowing China, from understanding China to loving her culture. The talent shows of the three contestants moved Instructor Kang Zhen, reputed for caring apprentices, who gave positive affirmation towards them. Li Ruiying, on the other hand, remarked on Ma Jiamu’s pronunciation of the polyphonic word “Dang (当)” from a professional perspective. At the end of this round, the audience had an initial impression on each contestant. Ma Jiamu took early lead with his heart-warming story.

The second round, “Comprehension Contest”, was a routine item in the final, and was not new to the three players. They all had marvelous performance, showing their talents well. When asked about his “favorite poem”, Ma Jiamu was not put on the spot, although without any idea of the answer. Instead, he skillfully shifted the topic to Harry Potter, winning stormy applause from the audience. Xinyue, on the other hand, played the emotional card. Her long-time dream of opening a Chinese language school in Egypt moved all instructors. Sporty Chen Di, with good luck, picked a topic on football, which brought in his childhood life, giving the audience a better understanding about the African boy. It turned out that Ma Jiamu still led the other players at the end of the second round, but there was no big point difference among the three.

The competition on the stage was more and more thrilling, while the cheer squads under the stage showed fight as well. Friends, relatives and teachers of the three players came to cheer for them. Two Chinese language teachers of Xinyue narrated the hardship the perseverant Egyptian girl had experienced. Chen Di’s university teacher gave an account of the anecdotes of the African boy during his study in China. Ma Jiamu’s two mothers also came to the final. His British mother, visiting China for the first time, was proud of his son; while his Chinese mother shared her experience of caring her “foreign son” with the audience.

Of the four stages, the ensuing third stage, “How Much do you Know Chinese”, was most challenging. This stage took a single round robin system, i.e. every contestant plays every other one. So altogether the three contestants formed three groups, and in each group two contestants raced to answer six questions. Questions in this lightning round were brand new, and were given by the think tank composed of professors invited by Hanban from universities in Beijing. The difficulty level was raised considerably campared with those in the past contests. By consecutively winning the right to answer and giving correct answers, Chen Di finally overtook all other players.

In the last round, “Clash of the Titans”, each contestant had one minute to show his/her talents, based on which three instructors gave their scores to their favorite one. All contestants chose to sing songs to express their gratitude since participating in the competition, with the audience and the judges beating time for them. They looked like families instead of rivals. On the stage of the Sixth “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for International Students, there was no loser, and each contestant reaped friendship and knowledge. At last, three instructors awarded their scores to Chen Di for his excellent performance.

The competition was also a fabulous banquet for all players. Terrific shows, including the guzheng, ribbon dance, Kongfu, face changing show of Sichuan opera, were woven into the intense contest. Players did not only speak Chinese language well, but also showcased their specialties. The crosstalk of Fang Xiaoyang from Germany and Mo De from Cameroon pictured the interesting life of “foreign sons-in-law”. Li Weijian, a famous cross talker in China, performed a group talk with several players, which brought the whole performance to a climax. Mi Na, the “Chinese star” of the last competition came to cheer for players. This Kazakhstani girl will pursue her MA study in Beijing University. She encouraged all players to persist in the pursuit of their dreams.

In the awards ceremony, the organizer of the competition also conferred “internet popularity awards” and “outstanding organization awards”.