An International Chinese Contest for Peace

Contestants try Chinese tea in Anhua, Hunan Province.

The summer heat also put the candidates to the test, several of whom fainted in the course of filming. As the contest crew went looking for help, other candidates gathered around, some wielding a fan and others spraying water on their unconscious teammates. A touching bond was thus formed in an unexpected crisis.

The grand finale, held on set one month after the competition opened, was eagerly viewed by a huge television audience. On the theme “the Silk Road, a lifeline between China and the world,” the grandiose show was very well run, and impressive for the technical expertise and the number of extras engaged in the spectacle. Winners from all the continents participated in the great tableau. There were elements of all the previous challenges: porcelain, martial arts, tea, Tang Dynasty politics and so on. The five contestants also had to answer the final questions posed by the jury. Among the jurors were the director of Croatia’s Confucius Institute; film star Tang Guoqiang, who frequently portrays Mao Zedong on screen; and Hai Xia, the CCTV presenter. The viewing public voted on the competition, and the jury’s commentary served only as advice.

Finally, the Brazilian candidate took the first place. She had the honor of being the first Latin American to win the honor. Xu Jialu, the contest’s founder, gave her the prize and congratulated her on her success. Despite the challenges and difficulty of the competition, in the end it is the smiles and joy of candidates at being in China and learning Chinese that is most important.