Beijing's axis joins history to the future

With three songs respectively about the Wanning Bridge, the Temple of Heaven and Jingshan Park along the Central Axis, the students were awarded with a group special honor award.

The students, most of whom are Chinese-language majors who will work as Chinese-language teachers once they graduate, learned about the competition while taking an elective course offered by the university's art department that teaches songs adapted from ancient Chinese poetry.

"I feel that I'm very lucky to participate in this course and the competition, because they have allowed me to learn more about Chinese culture and history," says one of the students, Bach Tong Khanh Minh, from Vietnam.

"I participated in the song about Wanning Bridge. It is a very beautiful song. When I was learning the lyrics, I got to know about the bridge's history and architectural style."

Each year, the university's art department offers a range of elective courses, many of which are popular with international students — especially those related to traditional Chinese music and instruments.

"Beijing's Central Axis is undoubtedly a significant historical witness to our outstanding traditional Chinese culture, serving as the backbone of the old Beijing city. So, when the competition's organizing committee extended an invitation to us, I thought it was a wonderful idea," says Chen Xia, the department's Party secretary.

"International students studying here should get to know Beijing. Apart from exploring Beijing with their eyes and footsteps, they can know more about our city's history and culture by learning these songs. These songs not only introduce the heritage sites but also tell of Beijing's culture, history and contemporary development."

Of all the contestants, Li Shan is the one with the longest connections with the competition since she has participated three years in a row. Over the years, she has submitted four short videos, which won a grand prize, a first prize, a second prize and an excellence award.

This year, her first-prize-winning video shows her combining the classical playground game hopscotch with 12 heritage sites.