The global finals of the 23rd Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students are set to be aired on a dozen TV channels and new media platforms from Friday to next Tuesday.
From Dec 27 to 31, the knockout stage and finals of the 23rd Chinese Bridge competition will be broadcast on China Education Television, Southeast TV, Ningxia TV, Fujian Straits TV, Fujian TV Comprehensive Channel, LeTV, Youku and Fujian IPTV.
An internationally influential Chinese language competition, the Chinese Bridge has attracted the participation of over 1.7 million young people from more than 160 countries since its inception in 2002.
This year's competition drew 147 contestants from 130 countries and regions, who went through contests in Beijing and in east China's Fujian Province, embarking on what the organizers described as a rewarding "Journey of Good Fortune."
The entire process has been recorded and produced into a 10-episode special program entitled Chinese Bridge: Fortune Comes, along with additional thrilling shows, including the Top 30 to Top 5 knockout stage and the global finals.
23rd Chinese Bridge global finals set to be aired
China's Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway officially entered service on Thursday,linking the financial hub of Shanghai with the historic cities of Suzhou and Huzhou in a major boost to regional connectivity.
The high-speed railway has a designed speed of 350 km per hour and spans 164 km, connecting Shanghai Hongqiao Station with Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province and Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province. The railway has eight stations, providing convenient access to major cities and towns along the route.
This is the first high-speed railway connecting the three major economic hubs of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta, according to Chen Guoquan, the railway project designer from China Railway Construction Corporation.
Residents are excited about the operation as the new high-speed railway is expected to significantly reduce travel times and improve connectivity between the three cities.
"We're in Huzhou city. It's so convenient for us to travel by high-speed train to Shanghai. It's good for people like us, so I'm very delighted," said a passenger.
"We have several places to visit. All the four people are excited. They all arrived early," said another passenger.
Before this new train service, the journey between Huzhou and Shanghai took about two hours. Now, it only takes around 50 minutes.
With the new railway, the operating length of the railway network in the Yangtze River Delta region has surpassed 15,000 km, over half of which is high-speed rail.
Along the railway, high-end industries are expected to cluster, further accelerating the high-quality development of the economic belt, according to Zhang Zhipeng, associate professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail line starts operation
