Feature: Lithuania holds Chinese Bridge competition for first time

Lithuania held its first ever Chinese Bridge, a proficiency competition for Chinese learners, on Saturday.

A number of six Chinese learners competed on Saturday's event after being selected through a previous round.

The competition on Saturday includes three parts: quiz on Chinese culture, speech, and talent show.

The competitors still need to improve their pronunciation of Chinese, yet their performance was impressive, and won rounds of big applause.

Andrius, a junior of Vytautas Magnus University which is located in Kaunas, the second largest city of Lithuania, got the first place of the competition, and won the opportunity to attend next round of competition in China.

"When I started learning Chinese, I determined to make efforts so one day I can use it freely, because this language is the most important tool to know Chinese culture," he told Xinhua.

He plans to go to China for further study and then come back to Lithuania to promote Chinese culture and art.

During his talent show on Saturday, Andrius presented Facing the Sea with Spring Blossoms, a poem by the late Chinese poet Haizi.

Julija, a master student of Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, brought to her audience a song named I'm only a little bird, a song written by Jonathan Lee, a famous singer from China's Taiwan.

She was playing guitar by herself when sang the song fondly.

"This song is very special to me. At one of the hardest points in my life I discovered a place that feels like home and a source to support my wings - China and the people I met there," Julija told Xinhua.

About learning Chinese, Julija said: "I love the way it sounds. It makes my heart beat faster. I love the way the logic of this language changes my way of thinking - the world makes better sense if described in Chinese."

As a student of legal psychology in Lithuania, she got the opportunity to spend 5 "incredible" months in China one year ago through exchange program.

"It totally changed my life. I had been travelling a lot, but only China felt like home - I was accepted, challenged and inspired by people I met there," she said to Xinhua.

Besides the touching performances, the competition also had different style of talent show. Zita, a junior of Vytautas Magnus University, danced with the song Little Apple.

She told Xinhua the song of Little Apple aroused foreign people's interest in China. And her favorite song of the Chopsticks Brothers, a music group who wrote Little Apple, is Father. She said: "The song is about love for father, and father is one of the most important people in one's life."

China's ambassador to Lithuania Wei Ruixing said that competitors were good on the quiz, speech and talent show, and some of them were really excellent.

He said: "Through the competitions, they can improve their Chinese language level, know better about Chinese culture and make more friends with the same interests."

As a Baltic country which only has hundreds of Chinese people residing or working on its territory, Lithuania has big potential to attract more Chinese people for study, travelling, or business.

Osvaldas Ciuksys, chairman of Lithuania-China Business Council, told Xinhua that direct flights between Lithuania and China will help mutual exchange in many ways.

Though flight has not linked the two countries directly, the language of Chinese has become a bridge already.

Chinese classes have been introduced in many Lithuanian universities and schools during the past years.

According to Wei, the competition of Chinese bridge in the future will be even better. Endit