Congratulations to Chinese Studies student Varja Djurišić from the University of Donja Gorica, who won the Montenegro final of the 25th Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and who will represent her country at the global finals in China.

Three more students Ajša Reković, Egor Petrov and Marija Joksimović, from the university's Tourism Confucius Classroom, also took part in the competition in Podgorica in late May, and all received Excellence Awards.

This year's contestants competed in three areas: a themed speech, a Chinese-language knowledge quiz and a Chinese cultural talent performance. The speech theme, "One World, One Family," invited students to reflect on how language can bring people and cultures closer together.

Varja Djurišić drew on her studying experience in Beijing, and her initial uncertainty of living in a new environment and explained how she built friendships through Chinese. For her talent performance, she sang The Camellias Have Bloomed and included the Taishun dialect from Zhejiang Province, showcasing both her strong language ability and cultural curiosity.

The other contestants also brought a lively mix of music, humour and traditional art to the stage. Ajša Reković performed Hard to Explain with Tibetan lyrics, Egor Petrov presented a Chinese talk show titled Chinese Is So Dangerous, and Marija Joksimović created a traditional painting featuring bamboo and pandas. Petrov's title was a playful joke about language-learning mix-ups; his slide read:  "Chinese is so tricky - ha-ha".

The results highlight the growing interest in Chinese language learning among young people in Montenegro and the role of the Tourism Confucius Classroom in supporting academic and cultural exchange between Montenegro and China.

Credits

Authors: Lai Peiyu, Shi Xinwei

Translator: Lu Lingrong

Reviewer: Fu Lili

Edit: Rees-Farrell Peter