On May 11th, the final round of the 10th Chinese Bridge speech preliminary contest in Pakistan was held in National University of Modern Languages (NUML). After the auditions and the second round, 8 contestants were elevated to the final round by their extraordinary performance. The winner of the final round will represent Pakistan to participate in the final “Chinese Bridge” speech contest held in China in this July.

The preliminary contest consisted of three parts: the talent show, the reciting and interpreting of Chinese ancient poems and Chinese knowledge quiz. The eight contestants were like "eight saints go across the sea, each shows special prowess". After the intense competition, the judges unanimously determined that Umer Seemab, who was from Confucius Institute in Islamabad (CII) showed spectacular proficiency of Chinese language and culture in the competition and thus won the first prize. He will represent Pakistan to take part in the final contest held in China. Musadiq and Muhammad Junaid Bashir, who were students of Chinese Department in NUML, won the second prizes. They will accompany the winner to China to observe the final contest. Other five contestants get the third prizes.

Chinese ambassador Mr. Liu Jian, Chinese cultural counselor Mr. Yang Linhai, Rector of NUML Dr. Aziz and other NUML leaders watched the competition. Mr Liu Jian delivered a concluding speech at the end. He congratulated the successful contestants and extended his appreciation to the CII for organizing such a splendid competition. He made a mention of the contributions made by CII during the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visit to Pakistan last year. Mr. Liu Jian pointed out that, “Language is a skill. Language is a bridge. Language is a window. Language is fun. Learning Chinese is like opening a widow to Chinese culture. You can gain much insight into Chinese people's way of life, behavior, values, national psychology and character, as well as factors leading to China's economic and social transformation in the past few decades”.

Rector of NUML, Dr. Aziz highlighted Mr. Liu Jian’s speech by encouraging students to learn Chinese well and to enhance the Pak-China friendship. Moreover, he urged them to explore the cause behind the economic and social development of China, which could be adopted by Pakistan.

The contest was sponsored by Cultural Office of China Embassy in Pakistan, undertaken by Confucius Institute in Islamabad and Chinese Department in NUML.