SOAS students win podium places at ‘most challenging’ Chinese Bridge competition

SOAS’s Yumi Yong and Melania El Khayat won podium places at this year’s UK Regional Competition for Chinese Bridge, which was held at Logan Hall, UCL in London. 

Yumi Yong won 2nd place among non-degree contestants, and Melania El Khayat secured 3rd place among degree students. 

The competition was attended by 18 contestants from 12 universities, and both the SOAS winners will go to China this summer to represent UK universities. 

Melania will compete in the international competition while Yumi will be among the selected audience. 

Zhaoxia Pang, lecturer in Chinese Education, said “I am really proud of their achievements. Yumi Yong is only at the lower intermediate Chinese level (CH3). Her talent performance was a fast-talk of Chinese radicals in rhymes. She did it gracefully.”   

The annual Chinese Bridge Competition is recognised globally as the most challenging Chinese proficiency competition for university students. Contestants must demonstrate their abilities in three areas: oral presentation, knowledge about Chinese language and culture, and a talent show. 

SOAS has a legacy of outstanding success in this competition since it began in 2002, which is a testament to the strength of the SOAS Chinese Language programmes. 

Congratulations to Yumi and Melania!