DAR ES SALAAM, May 14 (Xinhua) -- When 10-year-old Tanzanian child Ayubu Shaaban stepped onto the stage at the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam, few in the packed hall expected the soft-spoken boy to captivate the audience with fluent Chinese.
Dressed neatly in his school uniform, the Standard Six pupil from Longquan Bodhi Primary and Nursery School spoke confidently with remarkable composure during the sixth Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Primary School Students and the third Tanzanian Primary School Chinese Proficiency Competition.
Minutes later, cheers erupted across the hall as moderators announced Shaaban as the overall winner of the competition, which brought together 12 contestants aged nine to 13 from schools in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Lindi, and Zanzibar.
"When I was declared the champion, I could not believe my ears, and tears of joy started to flow," Shaaban told Xinhua shortly after receiving his trophy, certificate, and cash prize.
Holding the golden trophy tightly against his chest, Shaaban said learning Chinese had become more than a school activity for him.
"Chinese is key to opening the door to opportunities," he said with a smile. "My dream is to speak Chinese like the Chinese in Beijing."
The young champion now hopes to travel to China to represent Tanzania in the global finals of the competition, an opportunity organizers say could transform the lives of participating students.
For Shaaban, the victory marked another milestone in a journey that started in the classrooms of Longquan Bodhi Primary and Nursery School, a privately run school in Dar es Salaam, where pupils are taught Chinese language alongside moral and cultural education.
"In the past years, our champions have come from this school," said Xian Hong, the school's headmaster. "The year before last and last year we had first and second place, and this year again we won the championship."
Xian said the school's success in Chinese language competitions over recent years was largely due to the dedication of volunteer Chinese teachers who freely devote their time to training Tanzanian children.
Speaking during the competition, Flora Magige, acting deputy vice chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, responsible for academics, described the event as an important platform for nurturing young talents.
"The aim of this competition is to test students' abilities in speaking, singing, and understanding the Chinese language and culture," Magige said.
She noted that introducing Chinese language learning at the primary school level could help produce future professionals capable of contributing to Tanzania's development and strengthening international cooperation.
"We believe that if these children start strengthening themselves from the primary level, they will be very talented when they join the university," she said.
Che Zhaoguang, cultural attache at the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, said the Chinese Bridge competitions reflect the growing enthusiasm among Tanzanian youths to learn Chinese as ties between the two countries continue to expand.
Che also noted that the competitions have become a well-established platform for students in Tanzania to showcase their language skills and intercultural understanding.
"Chinese language is not only a subject or an examination paper," Che told contestants. "Chinese language may be the wings when you want to fly, or the beacon when you are navigating at sea, or the ladder when you are climbing the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in your academic and professional life." ■
