Nearly 50 universities in Beijing participated in the "Star of Chinese" - The Fourth Chinese Proficiency Competition for Beijing International Students on Saturday. The competition aims to showcase student achievements in learning Chinese, and is sponsored by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education.

The competition is an annual event which allows for foreign students to come together and showcase their talents.

This also serves as a platform for Chinese students from various countries to share their learning experiences, and further their cultural exchange. 

The three categories students compete in are language proficiency, a specific category, or the "talent show".

There were several rounds in the competition, which took place around the city at schools such as the Capital College of Physical Education. 

Young contestants showcased their Chinese skills in front of audiences on stage. In the language proficiency competition, contestants made two-minute-long presentations on topics related to "studying in Beijing". 

Following the language proficiency, the contestants made three-minute-long talent show presentations where they got to show off their fluency and expressiveness in Chinese to the judges and audience.

The talent show presentations saw 180 students compete in what ranged from singing traditional folk songs to reinventing renditions of pop songs. 

Wang Xiao from Australia is currently learning Chinese at Renmin University of China and he says he entered the competition for the fun experience.

"I don't care whether I can enter the final or not in the end," says Wang. "I just enjoy the experience of competing alongside other people learning Chinese."

Taidje Tang from the United States is a master candidate at the Communication University of China who competed in the final of the previous Chinese Star Language Contest. He says he thoroughly enjoys the competition, and is excited when it comes up each year. 

"I have made a lot of friends through this competition and my Chinese language has also improved through participating," says Tang. "I hope that more competitions like this will be hosted."