China Cultural Center and ‘TAG-Confucius Institute’ Conclude the ‘Chinese Bridge’ Competition

AMMAN - The China Cultural Center (CCC) in Amman, in cooperation with the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Confucius Institute (TAG-Confucius), a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), has organized the final round of the 22nd Chinese Proficiency Competition entitled ‘Chinese Bridge’ for university students in Jordan.

The finals were held under the patronage of the Chinese Ambassador to Jordan, HE Mr. Chen Chuandong, and HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman ofTAG-Confucius Institute. The competition included contests in rhetoric, general cultural inquiries, singing, and drawing, as well as narrating stories and tales from Chinese literature.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Chuandong said that the Chinese language encourages exchange between diverse cultures and civilizations pointing out that the ‘Chinese Bridge’ competition serves as a bridge of culture and friendship that connects China with the rest of the world.

The further explained that the ancient “Silk Road” had connected China and Jordan, and today the two countries are on their journey towards modernization, affirming that China and Jordan share two ancient civilizations with a common desire and responsibility to promote cultural and knowledge exchange between the two civilizations.

The Ambassador said that despite the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the global trend to learn Chinese, especially among the Arab and Jordanian youth, has never faded away.  He expressed his pride in the participants referring to them as an elite of Jordanian young people who are studying Chinese, saying: “We invite all Jordanians to take a glimpse of China's history and culture and contribute to the deep-rooted friendship between China and Jordan.” 

For his part, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his respect for the Great Chinese Civilization, starting with its language, which was the primary motivation for establishing Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Confucius Institute in 2008, with the aim of teaching the Chinese language and culture. He further stated that such remarkable cooperation and the exceptional bond between Amman and Beijing enabled more Jordanian youth to excel in learning the Chinese language.

He pointed out that China and Jordan have a long shared history and a rich culture, noting that the Chinese civilization dates back to more than 5000 years, indicating that studying the Chinese language helps better comprehend the country's past, present and future.

In addition, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh thanked all the deans, teachers, volunteers and contestants' parents for their dedication and support to teaching the Chinese language.

It is worth mentioning that ten participants took part in the competition, and successfully passed the qualifying and semi-final rounds to reach the regional final in Jordan.

One of TAG-Confucius's students, Ms. Sara Yousef, won first place, and will participate in the “Chinese Bridge” competition for Asian countries in Beijing to be held next August, while Mr. Younis Abu Al-Sondous from the University of Jordan won second place.

During the event, Student Sara said that she had learned the Chinese language at an early stage of her life, stating that her passion for learning the Chinese language continued at the TAG-Confucius Institute.