At 2 pm on 18 May 2023, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, in collaboration with the Confucius Institute at TA Marryshow Community College (TAMCC), successfully held its Ninth Chinese Bridge Competition in Grenada.
The Chinese Ambassador, HE Wei Hongtian, Ambassador-designate of Grenada to China Ian Marshall, Dean of SASPS of TAMCC Kenrick Mc Sween, and Associate Dean David Ambrose attended the event. In addition, Deputy Director of Bilateral Affairs Liu Yanzhe and Second Secretary Zhao Yazhuo of the Chinese Embassy, Resident Director of the Confucius Institute Qin Yi, Sashanna McVean (travel consultant at Sandals Grenada), and Chris Mignon, college lecturer served as judges for the competition. In addition, over 40 local students, teachers and parents watched the competition.
A total of 9 contestants participated in the competition, including 4 students from TAMCC and 5 students from Anglican High School.
The competition was divided into 2 sessions: Chinese Speech and Chinese Talent Show. In the Chinese Speech session, with the theme of “One World, One Family,” the college student contestants made speeches on the Chinese dragon, Chinese technology, Chinese music, and Chinese food. With the theme “Fly High with Chinese,” the Anglican High School contestants made speeches on Chinese oracle bone inscriptions, myths, historical allusions, and Chinese dialects. The contestants fully demonstrated their Chinese speaking skills and zeal for Chinese culture.
In the talent show session, the College students sang the Chinese songs of “Descendants of the Dragon,” “Friends,” and the Peking Opera “Ode to Pear Blossoms” and performed the dance “Every Word is Long.” The High school students performed the Chinese rap “Stranger in the North,” the Chinese songs “Together with Light and Dust,” “Yuxi Tan,” and the dance “From Now on I Will Wander with Myself,” along with the song “Broad Sea and Sky” in Cantonese, one of the Chinese dialects which is spoken mainly in Canton Province and Hong Kong. Their wonderful performances brought a feast of Chinese performance art to the audience.
Sheldon Francis, first-prize winner of the Chinese Bridge Competition Grenada in 2019, did a Tai Chi performance. Vivica Alexis, second-prize winner of the Chinese Bridge Competition Grenada in 2022, sang the Chinese song “My Motherland and Me” for the audience. After, Ian Marshall, the Ambassador-designate of Grenada to China, and HE Wei Hongtian, the Chinese Ambassador to Grenada, delivered their speeches, respectively.
Ian Marshall said he was deeply impressed by the contestants’ performance. The song “Friends” by the college student was the song he used to sing when he studied in China, which reminded him of his old Chinese friends. He pointed out to the students the importance of language learning, which he believes is a bridge between different cultures. He encouraged the young students to study Chinese well and learn more about Chinese culture for communications between Grenada and China. He ended his speech in Chinese: “Jiayou (Come on)! Jixu Nuli Xuexi (Continue to study hard)!”, which won him a resounding cheer from the audience.
The Chinese Ambassador HE Wei Hongtian was deeply moved by the students’ performances, especially the Cantonese song, “Broad Sea and Sky,” performed by the Anglican High School student group, which reminded him of when he spoke Cantonese in his childhood in his hometown of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. He pointed out that cultural communication is a 2-way exchange: not only do Grenadian people learn about Chinese culture, but also Chinese people learn about Grenadian culture. Having quickly recovered from the Covid-19 influence, China is to move ahead firmly, hand in hand with all friendly countries on the globe, including Grenada, to create a better world for all the people to live in.
The final positions were as follows: From the College group Carissa Lett won first place, Kendra Phillip secured second place, Hirchell Richards placed third, and Arieon Gray won the Excellence Award. From the Anglican High School group: Lydia Lalgie won the first Prize, Symphoni Lorde won the second-place prize, Melodi Lorde won the third-place prize, and Richelle Chase and Jadyn Gittens won the Excellence Award.
