Beijing event helps youth to know China through storytelling

Stories of China retold in English Challenge, an international youth exchange event, has concluded in Beijing recently, aiming to cultivate storytelling skills and enhance international communication abilities among young people.

University and high school students nationwide gathered with international students from the United States, Russia, Japan and other countries over the two-day event to foster friendships and promote Chinese culture through storytelling.

Since its official launch in December, the event has attracted a record 6,000 young participants from 135 countries and regions around the world. After rigorous selection, 75 participants raced to the final performance.

The themes for the speeches included "My Favorite Chinese Figure", "The Chinese Story I Choose to Tell," and "Chinese Culture through My Eyes".

A student from Mozambique, who is identified with his Chinese name Liu Yichen, shared his story with Chinese opera. "The pronunciation, intonation and the elongation of certain phrases in opera are quite challenging. It taught me that persistence is essential in the process of learning to perform opera," Liu said, adding that his passion for Chinese opera deepened his appreciation for the richness of Chinese culture.

Reflecting on the dedication and hard work behind the scenes for opera performers, he summarized it with the Chinese saying, "One minute on stage requires 10 years of efforts offstage."

Dou Ai, a student from Sichuan Conservatory of Music, emphasized the need for university students to establish cultural confidence and deeply engage with traditional culture.

"Each competition is a valuable experience. Through this process, we learn from each other and enhance our cultural literacy. We share our experiences and insights, allowing more people to appreciate the beauty of China's traditional culture," Dou said.

The judging panel for this year's performances consisted of experts from China, the UK and the US, representing various fields including English education, international Chinese language education and cultural communication.

Liu Xiaoming, China's former ambassador to the United Kingdom, shared his thoughts on nurturing young people's international communication skills, emphasizing the importance of cultural exchanges between China and other countries and encouraging more foreign audiences to hear Chinese stories.

Wang Ruiyuan contributed to this story.