One BYU undergrad traveled across the world to sing, debate, and perform stand-up comedy on an international stage—and all for a language competition.
When Ashley Breinholt (Neuroscience ’28) heard about the international language competition known as Chinese Bridge from her Chinese professor ShuPei Wang (Chinese Media Curriculum Design), she knew she wanted to be part of it. After taking first place in the preliminary regional portion, Breinholt qualified to compete alongside 154 other contestants from around the world. The international competition forced her to step out of her comfort zone and onto a stage to perform, debate, and recite poetry—and Breinholt’s efforts paid off when she took home second place.
Three Weeks in China
Contestants qualifying for the international portion of the Chinese Bridge competition spent three weeks in China, some of which was spent traveling to cities near the competition’s headquarters. In Beijing, the group visited popular tourist spots, including the Great Wall and the Imperial Palace. The contestants eventually made it to Fujian province, visiting cities in the area and even Wuyishan national park before ending in Pingtan, an island in Fujian where the competition took place.
For Breinholt, who had lived in China while growing up, popular tourist sites weren’t the best part of the trip; in fact, she preferred going to lesser-known places and meeting locals. In doing so, she learned “that people really value when you take the effort to learn more about them and their background, history, and culture.” She continues, “As much as I loved seeing the more touristy things, it was even more cool to interact with locals and talk about their experiences there and understand more about their lives.”
Standing on a World Stage
The competition picked up in Pingtan, where contestants were narrowed down from 150 students to only 30. “It was completely nerve-racking but also really exciting,” Breinholt says. “It was such a unique opportunity to showcase my Chinese skills but also connect with international students from around the world.” In the top 30, she continued through a series of rounds testing trivia, culture, and Chinese idioms until she made it to the top five—a group made up of five women from Australia, Egypt, Germany, Thailand, and the United States.
The final stages of the competition were made up of four rounds: performance, debate, trivia, and stand-up comedy. For the performances, each of the top five competitors was mentored by vocal, dance, and stand-up coaches. Outside of performance practice, Breinholt prepared for a debate “about whether contemporary culture should pursue cultural exchange or maintain individuality,” she recalls. “It was a really interesting debate to have with such a diverse group of people.”
With the conclusion of the final round, the top five contestants were ranked based on their performance in each category—and Breinholt came in second place, earning a full three-year scholarship to study Chinese teaching at Huaqiao University located in Fujian. “It was such a worthwhile experience, being able to open my eyes to different people’s lifestyles within China and to have great conversations with friends from South America or Africa or Australia,” she says. “For anyone who would want to have an international experience or just widen their own worldview, I think it is an incredible opportunity.”
Read more about Breinholt’s experience here.