Confucius Institute in Sofia organised a Chinese Song Competition and celebrated the 13th "International Chinese Day"

At 4:00 pm on 28 April, the Confucius Institute in Sofia held the third "Rose Melodies" Chinese Song Competition and the 13th "International Chinese Day" celebration online.

At the beginning of the event, the host introduced the guests and the judges who participated in this Chinese song competition, including the director of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Sofia, a doctoral student from the Music Academy in Plovdiv etc. Then, the Bulgarian and Chinese directors of the Confucius Institute in Sofia Mrs Aksiniya Koleva and Professor Liu Xiuming each delivered a speech. In his speech, Prof. Liu pointed out that 20 April is the 13th "International Chinese Language Day". Chinese characters are the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese working people in the past, the only pictographic characters left in the world, and are of great importance for the diversity of languages in the world.

The host then introduced the rules of the Chinese song competition. The competition is divided into two categories - solo performance and group performance, with first, second and a third prize for each category. Aneliya Neicheva won the first prize in the solo category, she is a 12th grade student at the Confucius Classroom at “Maxim Gorky” secondary school in Stara Zagora. The title of her song is "Stubborn" （犟）and she performed it with clear articulation and standard pronunciation, showing her own “stubborn” and unyielding attitude towards life. Reneta Koleva won the second prize in the solo category. Her performance of “A Burial Of Immortals” （葬仙）was splendid and moving, with a distinct Chinese style. Mariana Zagorska was the third prize winner with the song "I Like You" （喜欢你）. She is also a student at the Confucius Classroom at “Maxim Gorky” secondary school. In the video, she was wearing traditional Chinese clothing and holding a paper umbrella, which made her look very beautiful.

The next part of the event was announcing the winners in the group performance category. The team that won the first prize in the group performance category was the "Lingvacord" team, with their performance of "Picking Osmund" （采薇）. "When I left here, willows were fresh and green. Now when I come back to reminisce, heavy rain and snow are falling." Their singing seems to be an echo from a long distance in history, bringing us into the world of the Book of Songs. A group of students from class B, grade 11 of the "Vasil Levski" secondary school in Ruse won the second prize in the group performance. Their song "Let It Be" （随他吧）was sweet and full of youthful vigour. The Tianfeng team's chorus song "My Motherland and Me"（我和我的祖国）won the third prize. Through this song they expressed their friendship and respect for the Chinese people, which was very touching.

This Chinese song competition was a complete success. The competition provided Chinese song lovers in Bulgaria with an opportunity to show their singing skills, and proved the enthusiasm of Bulgarians to learn and sing Chinese songs.