The final of the second Zhengyuan Cup competition of reinterpretations of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales recreation was held on June 9.
Organized by the Royal Danish Consulate General in Chongqing and Zhengyuan Education Group, the competition for three to 12 year olds took place over more than two months with 24 teams emerging out a field of more than 2,000 competitors to win the final awards.
Lars Lund Rasmussen, Denmark's consul general in Chongqing, said, "Hans Christian Andersen is probably in his best known days in China by everybody no matter their age, ethnicity, and gender. Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales have been a companion for children all over the world during their childhood from one generation to another. Through this, I hope we can continue to plant many seeds for further cooperation between China and Denmark."
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A girl performs a rendition of The Ugly Duckling. [Photo ny Li Hanyi/provided to chinadainly.com.cn] |
As a long-running part of this competition, Andersen's fairy tales were adapated and performed on stage, including The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and Thumbelina. These old stories were given new inspiration by the participating kids.
"I am so excited to act as a duck in The Ugly Duckling. I love this story. It is delightful to take part in the competition," said six year old competitor, Fan Zixin.
In addition to the stage adaptations, painting and Lego construction were added as new events in the competition.
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A boy constructs a fairy tale castle with Lego as part of the Zhengyuan Cup competition. [Photo by Li Hanyi/provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
"Through these events, we hope kids can not only act out their own fairy tale on stage, but also draw on paper and construct their dream land in reality with Lego," said Jing Yazhen, chairman of Zhengyuan Education Group.
"However, the ultimate aim is to encourage good reading habits in kids and to carve out reading time for families to enjoy together," added Jing.
Li Hanyi contributed to this story
