Ahmed Alhayfani, an undergraduate student majoring in Chinese at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, said learning the language has changed his destiny and he wants to become a diplomat to bring the two countries closer.

Alhayfani won the first Chinese Bridge, a Chinese language proficiency contest for non-Chinese university students, held in Riyadh in July.

Alhayfani credited his teacher for his win. "Word by word, Mr Li helped me correct my pronunciation. For two weeks, we practiced my speech for a couple of hours every day," he said.

The teacher also helped him prepare a lengthy poem for the contest and stayed up all night to edit his introduction video. "I am glad to have chosen to major in Chinese. My teacher has helped me understand the culture of kindness and generosity of the Chinese people. Mr Li has ignited my interest," he said.

Alhayfani added that he hopes to pursue higher studies in China someday and see the country.

Wesal Alqarni, another undergraduate student at King Abdulaziz University, was the runner-up in the contest. She said she chose to major in Chinese because of the close relations between the two countries.

When COVID-19 hit China, Saudi Arabia sent epidemic control equipment, and China returned the favor when there was an outbreak in Saudi Arabia, she said. "Like a family, the two countries fought COVID together."

Alqarni takes a keen interest in Chinese culture. She reads poems in Chinese, which she finds "very beautiful and empowering".

She also watches Chinese movies, sings songs in the language and practices calligraphy and paper-cutting. She wants to become a Chinese language teacher and tell more people about China, so that they can discover "the true beauty of the country".

Moath Alghamdi, a King Abdulaziz University student who came fifth in the competition, is fascinated by Chinese opera. While participating in the contest, he had the chance to learn Yuju Opera. He now spends time reading books and watching videos on Chinese opera.

"Hopefully, I will be able to go to China to pursue my postgraduate studies next year. I'd like to visit the birthplace of Yuju Opera, and learn more about the Chinese opera culture," he said and added that he also wants to perform Chinese opera in front of Saudi audiences in the future.

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