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UPDATED: August 15, 2011 NO. 33 AUGUST 18, 2011
Building a Bridge to China
Annual competition promotes Chinese language and culture while forging friendships the world over
By BRANDON TAYLOR
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EVERYONE'S A WINNER: Ohio State University Professor Galal Walker (front left) receives a gift from his former students who participated in the Chinese Bridge competition. For many students, the competition provides a bridge to starting a life or successful career in China (SHI BOSEN )

ENJOY SINGING: A foreign college student performs a Chinese song and is accompanied by Chinese children at the opening ceremony for the 10th Chinese Bridge competition (SHI BOSEN)

Throughout the televised competition, contestants perform themed speeches and Chinese cultural skills—including kungfu, comic skits and short musical performances—and are eliminated in American Idol fashion, with votes determining who progresses to subsequent rounds.

Each year's Chinese Bridge champion wins a scholarship to a Chinese university. Past winners have attended Xiamen University.

Hanban is responsible for cultivating interest in the Chinese language and China in general. Aside from Chinese Bridge, Hanban is more widely recognized for its Confucius Institutes, Chinese language and cultural learning centers established through partnerships with international universities. Today, Hanban has 523 of these institutes with another 500 expected to open by 2020.

From across the globe

Russian student Yulia Shupta was in her second year at Kazan Federal University when she heard about Chinese Bridge. At the time, Shupta said, her Chinese was very basic, but after watching a video of the competition, Shupta was hooked.

"It's been my dream to come here," Shupta said. "In the time since I've been here, to get to see this culture, get to know the people, it's just been great."

After the competition, Shupta plans to continue her Chinese studies and eventually teach Chinese to students in Russia. Returning to China to teach Russian is also a possibility, she said, but for now she's focused on the contest.

Probably more important than demonstrating their Chinese-speaking prowess is the immersive experience the students have with China's unique and ancient culture.

"The important thing is that we're here to learn how to manage cultural conflicts so that we can do a better job of developing clean and efficient ways of communicating," said Bjorn Brauteseth, a South African student at Stellenbosch University.

Chinese Bridge also lets students expand their horizons in China and share information about their own cultures, Brauteseth said.

"This competition is a way to educate the Chinese about the world and to show them that the rest of the world is interested in China," he said.

And what better way to show that interest than through song, dance and other performances. Shupta will be giving a heart-warming speech about her love for her mother and the importance of family, a strong component of Chinese culture. Even for the most talented non-native Chinese linguists, public speaking in Mandarin can be a true test of language and nerves.

"Speaking and singing in a different language is definitely a challenge," Brauteseth, who will be singing Pearl of the Orient, said. "Singing comes easy for me. I love going to KTV, so this shouldn't be too hard."

Beyond the bridge

For many of the contestants, Chinese Bridge is only the beginning of their ties with China.

Under Walker's guidance, Ohio State has sent a number of students to China to compete in Chinese Bridge. In 2002, one of Walker's students placed first, with two other students taking the top prize in subsequent years, all of whom today have some affiliation with China. Some work for Chinese companies in China and the United States, Walker said. A few have even started their own businesses in China, using their Chinese speaking abilities and experience in the competition to boost their careers.

As a law student at UCLA, Gilreath is focusing on the entertainment sector, a fast growing industry in China. Hollywood companies looking to tap the Chinese market and its 1.3 billion potential viewers have so far met cultural and commercial obstacles. Gilreath hopes to use his China experience to help American entertainment groups learn about China and successfully bring their movies, TV shows or music here.

Opportunities to help foreign companies break into the Chinese market may pale in comparison to Chinese enterprises looking to expand overseas. With their eyes abroad Chinese companies are investing in just about every corner of the globe, causing the demand for professionals with Chinese speaking abilities and knowledge of Chinese culture to skyrocket. This is increasingly true in Africa, where China is building everything from roads and rails to refinery facilities and residences.

"I'm interested in representing African companies and African interests when working with the Chinese and communicating each other's goals," Brauteseth said. "As Africa's history goes, there's been a lot of unhealthy relationships. What some of my fellow students and I are concerned about is making sure that these bad habits are not repeated. Understanding China, respecting Chinese ideas is a big part of ensuring that."

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