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A Chinese singing contest for overseas students was held in Beijing recently.

The Coming to China Cup attracted more than 200 expatriate students from 35 countries, and the final 16 got to demonstrate their vocal talent.

Despite competing in a foreign language, the participants enjoyed performing on stage.

Russian: I just start to learn it when I came here, I hadn’t study it before, and I enjoy the language so much. I found it very interesting, so it is pretty well.

Marrion Uwechuewore traditional dress from her country of Liberia. Her performance got lots of cheers and applause from the audience even though her Chinese pronunciation wasn’t perfect.

Marrion: I feel good; I hope…I know I could get the win.

Francis Tchiegue, one of the cohosts of the contest, and has lived in China for four years. Not only is he fluent in Chinese, but he also loves the language.

Host: I think Chinese is a hard language to learn. The characters are hard to write and remember, and there's also the four tones for pronunciation. When I speak Chinese, I need to concentrate because I need to think about which tones to use. It can be quite difficult for us foreigners. But I am very interested in it. That's because China has a rich culture with 5,000 years of history. We come from around the world to China to study. We all appreciate Chinese culture very much.

Apart from learning the language, some contestants performed traditional Chinese folk songs showing their interest in Chinese culture.

Judge: Chinese folk songs are difficult to perform because they have a long history. When a contestant performs a specific style we see how well they grasp Chinese culture.

Nowadays, more expats come to China to pursue their education and career. And through this contest, it’s clear many students are very interested in Chinese culture, especially the language.

（英语点津 Celene 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.