China Song Contest Final

Saturday 25^th of March saw the final of the 2017 China Song Contest hosted at the Leeds University Union Stylus club.

The competition, organised by the Chinese Student and Scholars Association (CSSA), showcased talent from the University of Leeds, University of Bradford and University of Sheffield. Singers celebrated contemporary Chinese culture by performing pop music in various Chinese dialects including Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hokkien. Hongwei Yan, Chinese Director at the Business Confucius Institute at the University of Leeds (BCIUL) was on the judging panel.

After impressing the judges at the auditions earlier in the month, 12 finalists were invited to compete for cash prizes, and perform to an audience from all over the world at the final showcase. The competition was fierce, but after two rounds of performances, Gabriel Mayoral Galindo, University of Leeds student and one of BCIUL’s own Chinese Bridge Competition candidates, was awarded the fourth prize – ranked only after three native speakers of Chinese!

Hongwei Yan praised the evening and the CSSA, saying ‘This Chinese Song Contest brought to the audience a taste of Chinese music, and added some variety to the campus. All candidates, judges and audiences enjoyed the performance very much.’