“汉语桥”2025：津巴学子大放异彩

It was a bright and cheerful morning on the 30th of May 2025 as the Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe hosted the much-anticipated 2025 Chinese Bridge Competition . The event brought together various individuals including the University of Zimbabwe Executive members, the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe and his wife, headmasters, esteemed judges, teachers, performers, the university community, learners and parents. Some of the attendants of the programme were coming from as far as Zvishavane, Kadoma and Mt Darwin.

2025年5月30日早晨，津巴布韦大学大礼堂内外，阳光明媚，气氛欢快。津巴布韦大学孔子学院在此隆重举办备受期待的 2025 年大、中、小学生“汉语桥”比赛。活动吸引了来自各界的嘉宾，包括津巴布韦大学的领导、中国驻津巴布韦大使及夫人、中小学负责人、评委、教师、艺术团成员、大学校区员工、学生及家长等。一些嘉宾远道而来，从 Zvishavane、Kadoma 和 Mt Darwin 等地赶到现场。

Held in the iconic Great Hall, the competition was divided into three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Every category saw an impressive display of talent, language fluency and cultural understanding. The primary level featured 12 finalists who had qualified through a rigorous preliminary round. Similarly, the secondary level also showcased 12 participants while the tertiary level included 6 top students from University of Zimbabwe and Hillside Teacher’s College.

比赛在津大的地标建筑 Great Hall 举行，分为小学组、中学组和大学组三个组别。每个组别的选手都展现了出色的才艺、语言流利度和对中国文化的理解。小学组共有 12 组通过严格初赛选拔出的选手；中学组也有 12 组参赛者；大学组则由津巴布韦大学和 Hillside Teacher’s College 的 6 名优秀学生组成。

Among the three categories, the primary school performers were assessed in two sections including the speech and the talent performance whilst the secondary and the tertiary level performers were assessed in three sections that included the Chinese culture, speech and talent performance. Therefore, the two categories had to write a paper-based test for a cultural section before the beginning of the programme.

在三个组别中，小学组选手需参与两项评比：自我介绍和才艺展示；而中学组和大学组的评审内容则包括中国文化、演讲和才艺展示三个方面。因此，中学组和大学组的选手在比赛开始前还需完成一份关于中国文化的笔试题。

Upon the arrival of the guest of honor the programme started by the singing of two national anthems, the Chinese national anthem which was led by the Confucius Institute (CI) choir followed by the Zimbabwean national anthem which was led by the University of Zimbabwe choir. Thereafter, Prof Mangena the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities gave a welcoming speech to the congregation highlighting on the importance of hosting such competitions, followed by the Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Prof Mamvoto who also spoke about how as an institution the University is delighted to take part in this prestigious event. His Excellence Chinese Ambassador Zhou Ding could also not hide his enthusiasm in his speech chronicling all the endeavors the institution has done in improving the learning of Chinese language.

在贵宾入场之后，比赛活动以两国国歌的演唱正式拉开帷幕。中国国歌由孔子学院合唱团演唱，津巴布韦国歌则由津巴布韦大学合唱团演唱。随后，人文与艺术学院院长 Mangena 教授向在场嘉宾发表欢迎致辞，强调举办此类赛事的重要意义；主管教学事务的副校长 Mamvoto 教授也发表讲话，表示学校对能参与这一盛事感到十分荣幸；中国驻津大使周鼎阁下随后也发表了热情洋溢的讲话，回顾了津巴布韦大学在推动中文学习方面所做的各项努力。

The first performers were the tertiary level students where each student was to first give a speech followed by a talent performance. After the tertiary, the primary school performers also took turn to perform until they were all done. The secondary school were last performers also showcasing their talents on the stage. Energetic performers from three categories showcased different talents including singing, dancing, keyboard playing, choreographed fighting/ stage combat and many more.

首先登台的是大学组选手，每位选手依次进行演讲和才艺展示。大学组表演结束后，小学组选手接着登台表演，最后是中学组选手。来自三个组别的选手们活力四射，展示了多样才艺，包括唱歌、跳舞、键盘演奏、武术等，现场气氛热烈，精彩不断。

The day could not have been a success without mentioning the University of Zimbabwe entertainment group and the Confucius Institute choir which took turns on the stage to inspire the audience. The much awaited time came for the announcement of winners.

活动的成功也离不开津巴布韦大学文艺团体和孔子学院合唱团，他们轮流登台表演，为观众带来激励与感动。随着比赛进入尾声，激动人心的颁奖时刻终于到来。

There were 6 winners for the primary category, three on number 3, two were number 2 and one on number 1. The number 1 winner from this category was Tadaishe Chimhuka from Maranatha Primary School. Similarly, the secondary category had 6 winners with the number 1 winner being Thandeka Risinamhodzi from First Choice Cambridge and the tertiary level had three winners, two from University of Zimbabwe and one from Hillside Teacher’s College with the number 1 winner Kudakwashe Makoni from the University of Zimbabwe. 

小学组共评出6名获奖选手：3名获得三等奖，2名获得二等奖，1名荣获一等奖，该组一等奖得主为来自 Maranatha 小学的 Tadaishe Chimhuka。中学组同样有6位获奖者，一等奖由来自 First Choice Cambridge 的 Thandeka Risinamhodzi 获得。大学组共三位获奖者，其中两位来自津巴布韦大学，一位来自 Hillside Teacher’s College，一等奖得主为津巴布韦大学的 Kudakwashe Makoni。

To sum up, it was an exciting day for everyone who attended and for those who performed. The event brought together young language enthusiasts and cultural performers from various primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions, celebrating the growing bond between Zimbabwe and China through language and culture. Although some could not make it in the top three, it was a learning curve as they benefited a lot by learning from those who won.

总的来说，这一天对于所有到场观众和参赛表演者而言，都是一场令人振奋的盛会。本次活动汇聚了来自多所小学、中学和高等院校的语言爱好者和文化表演者，通过语言与文化的交流，进一步加深了津巴布韦与中国之间的情谊。尽管部分选手未能跻身前三，但这次经历成为他们成长过程中的宝贵一课，他们也从获奖者的表现中学到了许多。