"This is me, Matt in English, and Wen Anrui in Chinese. Matt is like a father; he encourages Anrui to learn new Chinese vocabulary; when Anrui becomes confident in speaking Chinese, he encourages Matt to change his attitude toward life," Mathew Gilder, a university student from Wisconsin, opened his speech during a contest on April 27.

Gilder was among 40 college students attending the 2019 Midwest College Student Chinese Speech Contest at Loyola University in Chicago. Most of them have a good command of Chinese language, even in music.

Afrasiab Mian, a Northwestern University student, performed a rap in the Chinese language during the talent presentation section of the contest.

"I believe it is my destiny to learn Chinese. I originally chose Spanish as second language in high school, but finally I was able to attend Chinese language class," Mian says about his experience.

Now, as a student of Chinese for seven years, Mian can express himself freely and fluently, even without an accent. He says after learning Chinese, he decided to study Chinese culture at Peking University in China.

In one year, Mian studied Chinese culture, and traveled through half of China.

"On my journey from Beijing to Yunnan, I never felt lonely, because Chinese people are friendly. Actually, I found there is no divide between different people."

Mian concludes that learning Chinese changed his destiny. "At first I thought learning Chinese was a chore, but now it brings me a great deal of happiness. We should grasp every opportunity; maybe it will change our life."

Mian finally won the first prize in the group of advanced class students.

As a special guest, Chinese consul general in Chicago, Zhao Jian, handed the gold medal to Mian, and had a photo with him.

"So many universities are supporting Chinese language education in the Midwest of the United States. I think it reflects how much everyone present loves the Chinese language and Chinese culture," Zhao said in his speech. "It also shows the schools, students and their parents value cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States."

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, so I hope that people between the two countries continue work together promoting mutual cooperation in different fields," Zhao says.

Gu Licheng, chairman of the organizing committee of the Chinese speech contest, highly praised the contestants' performance and thanked their teachers and parents for helping them. Gu says: "I hope through this contest, more people will know more about modern China, in history, art and culture."