Guangxi’s fourth Hanzi contest tests more than memory—it immerses students in the living culture behind the script.

November 15, 2025 | Guilin, China

In a quiet auditorium in Guilin, the only sounds were the scratch of pens and the focused breath of competitors. For over 260 international students from across Guangxi, this was the moment of truth at the Fourth International Students Chinese Character Dictation Competition. But the real test began once they put their pens down.

Hosted by Guangxi Normal University, the contest is a unique blend of academic rigor and cultural immersion. Students are judged not only on their ability to recall and write complex Hanzi but are also transported beyond the city to see how the language lives and breathes in rural China.

More Than a Test

“This is more than a test-it's a bridge,” Huang Xiaojuan, Vice President of Guangxi Normal University, told participants. “We want you to grasp the culture and history held within every stroke.”

The bridge extends beyond the classroom. Zhang Yuanliang, Deputy Director of the Guangxi Education Department, emphasized the event’s role in strengthening ties, especially with ASEAN nations. He highlighted programs like “Chinese + Vocational Skills,” which connect language mastery to practical career paths, signaling a shift from learning Chinese for its own sake to learning it as a tool for professional opportunity.

From Stage to Village

After tense individual and team rounds-where Chi Shengyu and Guilin University of Electronic Technology claimed top advanced honors-the competitors traded the spotlight for sunlight.

They traveled to Zhongfeng Town, a “Perceiving China” practice base recognized by the China Scholarship Council. Here, the characters they had just written about “countryside” (乡村) or “culture” (文化) came to life. Students walked through villages undergoing revitalization, spoke with locals, and tried their hand at traditional crafts.

“You study the character for ‘tea’ (茶) for weeks,” said Sofia Martinez, a Spanish student, “but here you pick leaves, smell them drying, and share the finished drink with a family. The character stops being a shape and becomes a smell, a taste, a memory.”

The Lasting Character

Now in its fourth year, the competition has cemented its place on the regional calendar. But its legacy is written in more than just annual rankings. It represents a growing model in Chinese international education: one that pairs academic challenge with authentic, grassroots experience.

For the students, the weekend was a powerful reminder that language is not a closed system of rules, but an open door to understanding a people and a place. They came to compete over characters; they left with stories etched not just on paper, but in their minds.

At the opening ceremony

Huang Xiaojuan, Vice President of Guangxi Normal University, delivers welcoming remarks

Zhang Yuanliang, Deputy Director of the Education Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, delivers remarks

Team competition underway at the Chinese Character Dictation Contest

Individual competition underway at the Chinese Character Dictation Contest

Chinese and foreign teachers and students take part in cultural activities