„Sing the Song of the Universiade and Еxperience the Charm of Chinese Language“: Students from the Confucius Institute in Sofia Were Invited to Participate in the Recording of the Theme Promotion Songs for the 31st Summer Universiade in Chengdu

On July 23rd, the Confucius Institute in Sofia, actively responded to the call of the Chinese Language Exchange and Cooperation Center's "Sport for the Youths, Songs for the Universiade" Global Youth Chinese Song Project, and was invited to participate in the recording of three theme promotion songs for the 31st World University Student Summer in Chengdu Sports Games (hereinafter referred to as: Universiade). The aim of the activity was to feel the charm of the Universiade and experience the power of Chinese youth.

The event was organized under the brand framework of "Learn Chinese by Singing" of the Chinese Language Exchange and Cooperation Center, and jointly organized by the Executive Committee of the Center and the 31st Summer Universiade in Chengdu. Under the guidance of Mr. Yang Tian, Head of the Education Department at the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, the Confucius Institute in Sofia selected Zhana Todorova, the champion of the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students in Bulgaria, and Stefani Todorova, the winner of the 4th "Scent of Roses" Chinese Song Contest, to participate in the recording of the songs "The City of the Panda", "A Song about Youth", "Dare to Live" and others.

On the day of the recording, the two students were dressed in traditional Bulgarian national costumes and sang the song of the Universiade in Chinese at the beginning of the "Song of Youth" video. In the "The City of the Panda" video, Zhana held a panda toy and wore a T-shirt with pandas which she had drawn by herself. She used Chinese hip hop to take the lead and let youths around the world know about this city of pandas and the city of Universiade. In the video of the song "Dare to Live", Zhana also appeared several times, showing the positive demeanor of Bulgarian teenagers which fit the promotional theme of the Universiade. All three songs were released on July 28, the opening day of the Universiade.

This recording coincided with the 13th "You and Me in Beijing" BFSU "Chinese Bridge" Summer Camp, where 40 teachers and students from the Confucius Institute in Sofia took part. The camp was sponsored by the Chinese Language Exchange and Cooperation Center and Beijing Foreign Studies University, organized by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, and co-organized by North China University of Technology. The Universiade project enriched the trip of the Bulgarian students and gave them the best memories.

Confucius Institute in Sofia

Text: Wang Ying, Gao Wen

Photos: Wang Ying

Editors: Liu Xiuming, Aksiniya Koleva, Liu Tianchao

English translation: Dima Pironkova

Photo 1 A screenshot from the videoclip “The City of the Panda”

Photo 2 A screenshot from the videoclip “A Song about Youth”

Photo 3 A screenshot from the videoclip “Dare to Live”