Meet Nigerian student who won global Chinese proficiency prize

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A student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Faith Emmanuel, has won the Global Third Prize at the 25th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China.

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Emmanuel, whose Chinese name is Lu Xingyao, is a participant of the Confucius Institute at UNIZIK and was among 157 contestants from 138 countries who competed in the global contest.

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The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, in a congratulatory message shared on Facebook on Friday, described Emmanuel as an “outstanding Nigerian youth” and praised her achievement.

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The embassy said, “Faith Mba Emmanuel (Chinese name: Lu Xingyao), a student of the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), who stood out among 157 contestants from 138 countries to win the Global Third Prize.”

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Emmanuel’s achievement is particularly notable because she began learning Chinese from scratch in March 2025, according to a release by Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

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The university said many contestants had studied Chinese for five or six years, while the longest-serving participant had studied the language for as many as 15 years. Some had also studied or lived in China for extended periods.

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Despite having less than one-and-a-half years of Chinese-learning experience, Emmanuel progressed through successive rounds of the competition to secure a place among the Global Top 30 before winning the Global Third Prize.

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She became the 12th contestant from the UNIZIK Confucius Institute to reach the “Chinese Bridge” Global Top 30 since 2018.

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According to the university, Emmanuel’s performance was built on her passion for the Chinese language, persistent hard work and confident stage presence.

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Qin Fangfang of the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University described her achievement as a reflection of the determination of Nigerian youths.

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“Faith Mba Emmanuel’s journey is not only a story of courage, perseverance and diligence, but also a vivid reflection of the determination of Nigerian youth to pursue their dreams and embrace challenges,” Qin said.

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The “Chinese Bridge” competition brings together students from outside China to compete in Chinese-language proficiency and demonstrate their knowledge of Chinese culture.

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The latest achievement adds to the record of the UNIZIK Confucius Institute in the competition. Since 2018, contestants from the institute have won three African championships, four Global First Prizes and four Global Third Prizes, with 12 contestants reaching the Global Top 30.

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The Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Yu Zhangbao, had earlier expressed confidence in Emmanuel’s performance as she progressed through the competition.

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“We look forward to seeing Faith maintain her excellent form, advance even further in the upcoming rounds, and achieve greater success,” he said.

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He said her participation would help showcase “the talent, confidence and determination of Nigerian youth on the global stage.”

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The Chinese Embassy also congratulated UNIZIK and its Confucius Institute team, describing Emmanuel’s achievement as a reflection of the growing people-to-people and cultural exchanges between Nigeria and China.

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