London hosts 'Water Cube Cup' Chinese song contest

A Chinese songs contest for overseas Chinese was held in London on Sunday.

Organized by the London Chinatown Chinese Association, the contest serves as the British round of the "Cultures of China: Water Cube Cup" Chinese Songs Singing Competition, a key music event within the global Chinese community.

Twenty contestants took part in Sunday's competition in London. They were divided into three age groups: adults (18-40), juniors (12-17) and children (5-11). The contest awarded one gold, one silver and one bronze prize for each group, along with several honorable mentions.

The winners of this round will go on to represent the United Kingdom in the next stage, where they will compete against contestants from other divisions. The ultimate winners will advance to the final contest in Beijing or online this summer.

In a welcome speech, Jiang Lei, minister counselor for consular and overseas Chinese affairs and consul general of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, said the contest is a great platform to showcase the talents of overseas Chinese and promote cultural exchanges.

"2024 marks the Year of the Dragon. It's especially meaningful for the descendants of the dragon to gather and sing Chinese songs together," she said.

"In the future, I'm confident that these young contestants will move from today's small stage to larger ones, acting as folk cultural ambassadors fostering people-to-people exchanges and promoting traditional Chinese culture," Jiang said.

Jacky Zhao, a 15-year-old boy, made his debut here and earned a silver prize of the juniors group.

"It was my first stage performance here, which I think can help me better adapt to life in the UK and engage with the local community," he said.

Li Siyu, adorned in a traditional Chinese horse-face skirt, performed the song Qingming Shanghe Tu (Along the River During the Qingming Festival), inspired by the famous Song Dynasty painting depicting China's picturesque rural life.

By merging classical Chinese dance and Peking opera into her performance, Li aimed to "showcase the beauty and charm of the traditional Chinese culture to the audience". She was recognized with an honorable mention.

Wang Chen, one of the judges of this year's contest, said that she was deeply impressed. "I'm happy to see that the contestants' proficiency in Chinese has improved. The event is very meaningful to help those who grow up overseas become more familiar with Chinese songs, characters and culture," she said.

The contest has been held for 14 consecutive years since 2011, drawing more than 45,000 contestants from around the world and establishing itself as one of the most influential cultural events for overseas Chinese.

Jiang Duo contributed to this story.