To promote cultural exchange and communication among global youth, as well as to showcase achievements of international Chinese language education, New Channel International Education Group, together with China Education Television, is holding the 4th “Stories of China Retold in English” Challenge.

The Domestic Foreign Students Category was set up for youth from various cultural backgrounds in 2021 under the guidance of Center for Language Education and Cooperation. The participants from all over the world vividly told us what they had seen, heard, and thought in Chinese (preferred) or English, based on their study and life experience in China, including Chinese traditional classic stories and the ones of the Contemporary China's reform and opening-up, poverty alleviation, fighting COVID-19 and the wonderful characters and events of Chinese-foreign exchanges and cooperation. They have become the witnesses and facilitators for the integration of China and the world; meanwhile, their active participation has enriched and deepened the significance of the challenge.

Ⅰ. Rounds of the Challenge and Schedule

The selection of the Domestic Foreign Students Category includes 4 rounds: Preliminary Round, Intermediate Round, Advanced Round and Grand Showcase.

The closing date for the preliminary round is March 20th, 2024.

Ⅱ. Language in Use

Participants are required to present in a language other than their native language, as follows:

Ⅲ. Requirements

The contestants will prepare their entries in one of three forms: "Recitation", "Self-Introduction" and "Story Writing & Retelling". The requirements are as follows:

1. Recitation

Contestants choose one of the recommended articles, or any article from the recommended books, recite a story paragraph in non-native language.

Requirement: Contestants recite in front of the camera, record a video of no more than 1.5 minutes, and submit the video work.

2. Self-Introduction

The contestant will introduce himself/herself. The content of the introduction shall contain Chinese elements, which include but are not limited to Chinese cultural icons, Chinese customs, Chinese great figures, Chinese achievements, Chinese arts, or Chinese spirit.

Requirement: Contestants will introduce themselves in front of the camera, present your performance during video recording as if you were on the real stage, and submit a 1.5-minute video.

3. Story Writing & Retelling

Contestants shall write a short story based on Chinese elements. Please be careful not to use the contestants themselves as the subject of the story. Chinese elements include but are not limited to Chinese cultural icons, Chinese customs, Chinese great figures, Chinese achievements, Chinese arts, or Chinese spirit. Your story should have a clear narrative structure, including a "beginning" (introducing the setting and main characters), a "body" (describing the main events and the climax of the story), and an "ending" (creative endings are especially encouraged).

Requirement: Contestants will write a creative story and read/recite it on a simulated stage, and submit a 1.5-minute audio online/audio and the story script.

Ⅳ. Suggestions for Participation

1. Video guidelines: Video is maximum 1.5 minutes long, and the supported file formats are mp4, flv, mkv, rmvb, etc. The maximum video file size is 200M.

2. Text guidelines: The file formats such as doc, docx, pdf, txt, jpg, png are supported. The maximum size of the text file size is 20M.

3. During the presentation, please refrain from disclosing personal information (such as name, school name, or school uniform/logo). If using a mobile phone for recording, it is recommended to use landscape mode, showcasing the upper body and complete body language for higher video quality. This increases the chances of being selected for the high-quality promotion video of featured participants. Present your performance during video recording as if you were on the real stage, and you can prepare your own backgrounds, PPT, costumes and props to assist. Please avoid advertising, having identical content with others, plagiarism, and any suspicious conduct.

Wrong Example                                         Correct Example

Ⅴ. How to submit

Students who want to participate in this competition are requested to submit their works before March 20, 2024 and send their works to cupbculture@126.com email.