A student from Montenegro won the 18th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students on Friday in Tianjin. After five rounds of competition, Alisa Bogdanovic emerged as champion at the event, beating out participants from around the world.

Contestants experienced traditional opera, explored advances at Chinese AI companies, and hopped over to Beijing to visit the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.

"Participating in the Chinese Bridge event allowed me to step beyond textbooks and experience China's culture firsthand to truly feel its charm," said Ibrohimkhonova Ezozakhon from Uzbekistan, who was influenced by her father's time studying in China. She began learning Tai Chi and martial arts as a child and is now studying in Tianjin at her father's recommendation. She hopes to help more people in Uzbekistan gain a fuller understanding of China.

"I'm thrilled to see so many foreign friends speak Chinese so well," said a volunteer from Tianjin Normal University. "Some of the contestants I assisted started learning Chinese at the age of three. They made it to the global top 30 and won third prizes. I'm proud of them."

Yoshika Gunarathna from Sri Lanka mentioned that learning Chinese has made her more confident and outgoing. She plans to continue her Chinese studies and hopes to study in China in the future.

"Tianjin will continue to provide fertile ground for Chinese learners, helping them gain a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of a credible, lovable, and respectable China," said Zhang Ling, vice mayor of Tianjin.

Wang Xiaojing contributed to this story.