The 19th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 13th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students will be held in Beijing from September to December 2020. In 2020, Hainan Province that has been innovative in promoting culture and tourism development, leverages the "Chinese Bridge" competition to promote cultural, art and technological exchanges between Hainan and its foreign counterparts and attract outstanding young foreign students proficient in Chinese to pursue a career in Hainan. This year, Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports has, based on the "Chinese Bridge" competition, taken measures to promote the province overseas. It put multi-linguistic pamphlets, videos and special pages about Hainan on the official website of the competition and the related mobile platform, showcasing the picturesque view and the advantageous business environment of the province as the only duty-free island in China to attract the world's attention. In addition, the province sponsored the competition's finalists from the seven countries of Malaysia, Germany, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Kazakhstan and Thailand and offered them a free trip to Hainan where they can experience the appeal of the Chinese language and culture as well as the charm of Hainan. "Chinese Bridge", Chinese proficiency competition for foreign students, has been held for 18 consecutive years since 2002. More than 1.4 million students from over 150 countries have participated in the competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competitions for foreign college and secondary school students have been moved online. However, the enthusiasm of competitors continues as the event has drawn attention of more than 1.5 million people from around the world. The competitions held by the Chinese embassies and consulates as well centers for language education and cooperation in foreign countries are attended and addressed by political dignitaries. This year, Hainan has ushered in a new mission of building itself into a free trade port. In this context Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports has taken advantage of the unique and powerful channels and influence of the "Chinese Bridge" competition to promote the province's cultural brands overseas; and has enhanced Hainan's international reputation in an innovative and targeted manner and opened a window for the outside world to know about Hainan, a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. All these efforts have boosted inbound tourism in Hainan. Source: Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Image Attachments Links: Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=372081 Caption: Welcome to the "Chinese Bridge" and to Hainan to Feel the Island Charm