UoN Student Excels in Chinese Bridge Competition
What began as a simple fascination with a Chinese television drama in Form One has grown into an inspiring journey of language, culture, determination and global achievement for Miriam Achieng Kenyatta, a Geospatial Engineering student in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nairobi and a Chinese language learner at the Confucius Institute.
Miriam’s interest in China began after watching Imperial Doctress on K24, a drama centred on Chinese medicine. At the time, she dreamed of becoming a doctor. By Form Two, her growing passion for physics redirected her career ambitions towards engineering. Although her professional aspirations changed, her fascination with China and its culture remained.
Years later, after joining the University of Nairobi, Miriam discovered that she could study Chinese at the Confucius Institute. She embraced the opportunity with remarkable commitment and quickly developed strong language skills. Although she had initially stopped her HSK 1 studies and was not part of the regular class group, her pronunciation and natural ability to speak Chinese caught the attention of the Chinese Drama Club coach, who recommended her for the Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition.
Her progress was remarkable. When she returned to Chinese classes, She subsequently competed against more than 200 contestants in the Kenyan competition and emerged as the national champion, earning the opportunity to represent Kenya on the global stage.
From May to early August, Miriam underwent intensive preparation for the international competition in China. Her training included a prepared speech based on the theme “One World, One Family,” Chinese culture and general knowledge, impromptu speaking and a talent performance. Drawing on her experience in the Chinese Drama Club, she prepared a Chinese drumming performance for the competition.
Her achievement was driven not only by talent but also by dedication, discipline and strong family support. Miriam committed herself fully to the training programme, spending university holidays at the institute for intensive, one-on-one coaching with her teachers. Her mother and the rest of her family played an important role in supporting her throughout the demanding preparation period.
That dedication produced a historic result. Competing against 157 contestants from around the world, Miriam advanced from the global Top 30 to the Top 15. She also emerged among the Top 3 contestants in Africa, alongside representatives from Egypt and Togo. Her performance marked the best-ever result by a Kenyan contestant in the Chinese Bridge competition, surpassing Kenya’s previous Top 30 finish.
For Miriam, however, learning Chinese is about much more than examinations or competition. She describes it as a lifestyle. Since living in China was not initially possible, she created an immersive Chinese environment around herself by watching Chinese films and videos, changing her phone settings to Chinese and engaging with Chinese digital platforms. She believes that while classroom learning provides vocabulary, reading and writing skills, continuous speaking and listening practice are essential for achieving fluency.
Her journey demonstrates how curiosity can grow into passion, passion can develop into discipline, and discipline can open doors to global opportunities. Miriam’s Top 15 finish has not only raised Kenya’s profile on the international Chinese Bridge stage but has also inspired the Confucius Institute to dream bigger and work towards producing a future global Chinese Bridge champion.
At the University of Nairobi’s Confucius Institute, Miriam’s story is a powerful reminder that education extends beyond the classroom. Through language and cultural exchange, students can develop new skills, build meaningful connections and discover opportunities that transcend borders. For Miriam, the journey continues with renewed confidence, new aspirations and a belief in the power of language to build bridges between people and cultures.
