language competition “Chinese Was the Challenge I Needed”
4 February 2026
Heidelberg student Eva-Anne Kirst wins the international “Chinese Bridge” language competition
Eva-Anne Kirst has achieved exceptional success on the international stage. As the first participant from Germany, the 24-year-old won the world final of the “Chinese Bridge” language competition, which is unofficially regarded as the Chinese-language world championship. Eva-Anne Kirst, who studied East Asian Studies at Heidelberg University specializing in Chinese Studies, went on to beat 154 students from more than 130 countries in the final rounds. “Chinese Bridge” is organized each year by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. With thousands of participants, the event is one of the largest language competitions in the world. In this interview, Eva-Anne Kirst talks about how her fascination with the Chinese language began and how she was able to stay calm in China during the final, which was staged as a game show and broadcast on television.
Chinese is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. You can now call yourself a world champion in this language. How did this enthusiasm come about?
Eva-Anne Kirst: Even at school, I was interested in East Asia. I practiced karate and watched Japanese anime and Chinese kung fu films. My mother then told me about a Chinese course offered by the Confucius Institute in Freiburg, which included a two-week study trip to China. I was immediately fired up and thought: “If you can learn this, you can handle anything.” Chinese was exactly the challenge I needed. I was 16 at the time.
How did you continue learning the language after the course?
Eva-Anne Kirst: Chinese kind of became my hobby, even before I finished school. I learned a lot in my free time – first with apps, and later with books and TV series with Chinese subtitles. I was particularly drawn to the characters because they’re a totally different system from our letters. That’s what pushed me to start studying East Asian Studies at Heidelberg in 2021, specializing in Chinese Studies.
The “Chinese Bridge” competition was split into two stages – the German qualifier first, and then the international finals in China. What was each stage like?
Eva-Anne Kirst: In the German qualifier in Munich, I had to answer questions on the language, culture and places of interest, give a three-minute speech in Chinese, and perform something artistic with a link to China – I sang a Chinese song. I knew I had a real chance of winning, partly because I only had to beat 13 other people. In China, we first spent two weeks travelling around the country, with regular exams in between, including written tests on listening comprehension and grammar. We also had to write a speech about a Chinese landmark and recite it from memory. The best competitors from each continent were then chosen for the top 30. Because I made it into that group, I was able to stay for a third week and take part in further rounds in Pingtan. I made it from the quarter-final to the semi-final and became the European finalist.
How did the final go?
Eva-Anne Kirst: Just like the quarter-final and semi-final, the final took place last year in a television studio in Pingtan, in the form of a game show. The tasks varied a lot. For example, we had to answer general knowledge questions or learn 50 set proverbs by heart in a single day. There wasn’t much time for anything else – just learning, rehearsing, sleeping, and eating. Luckily, I managed to stay calm under the pressure. For the top-five final, I wore a traditional costume from my hometown of Eichstetten in Baden — and I ended up winning. I really didn’t expect that. I would have been completely satisfied just to make the top 30, especially as some of the other contestants had a higher level of Chinese than I did.
Your prize is a scholarship for a Master’s degree program in China in the field of “Chinese as a Foreign Language”. When do you plan to start, and where?
Eva-Anne Kirst: I handed in my Bachelor’s thesis on “Chinese wrestling” at the end of October 2025. The scholarship is a gift and a huge opportunity for me. But studying abroad so far from home needs careful thought and planning. In 2023, I spent ten months in Beijing for my year abroad as part of my Chinese Studies degree. I’m considering applying for the Master’s at Peking University or Tsinghua University, both of which are widely regarded as excellent universities. For now, other things are keeping me in Germany, so I’ll probably take up the scholarship in 2027 or 2028.
The “Chinese Bridge” competition has been held every year since 2002 by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, a cultural organization under China’s Ministry of Education. It comprises two stages: the qualifiers in the individual countries and the final in China.