2025 “My Beautiful Encounter with China” Essay and Short Video Competition is now open for entries. Write it, shoot it, show us your spark.
The event is guided by the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education, hosted by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), and organized by Global Times Online.
Under the theme of “My Beautiful Encounter with China,” the competition invites international students currently studying in China, graduates who have studied in China, foreign nationals with experience in China, scholars from overseas Sinology institutes, and foreign teenagers studying at international schools to tell authentic stories about China through essays or short videos. Participants are encouraged to share their personal experiences of studying, living, or working in China, and to convey the beauty of their encounters with the country.
This year’s competition includes several award categories such as “Beauty in Words,” “Beauty in Light and Shadow,” “Creative Innovation,” “Cultural Bridge,” “Light of Friendship,” and “Star of Popularity.” All winners will receive official certificates from the 2025 “My Beautiful Encounter with China” Competition.
1.Participants
International students currently studying in China; graduates who studied in China; foreign nationals with experience in China; scholars from overseas Sinology institutes; and foreign teenagers studying at international schools.
2.Event Schedule
Submission Period: From now until 12:00 p.m.(Beijing Time), December 14, 2025
Online Voting: 12:00 p.m., December 22 – 12:00 p.m., December 26, 2025
Expert Review: December 29, 2025 – January 9, 2026
Awards Announcement: January 2026
3.Entry Requirements
Participants may submit entries in one or both categories—essay and short video. All submissions must be original, unpublished, and free of plagiarism.
（1）Essay Requirements
There are no genre restrictions. Essays should be about 1,000 Chinese characters, written in Chinese, with the following format recommendations: Song font, small size 4, 1.5 line spacing.
（2）Short Video Requirements
Duration: 1–6 minutes
Recommended format: Landscape (16:9), clear visuals without logos or watermarks
Encoding format: MP4/MOV
Language: No restrictions; bilingual subtitles (Chinese + English) are recommended, and Chinese characters should be used accurately.
Outstanding works will be showcased after the competition.
（3）Copyright and Intellectual Property
All submissions must align with the competition theme and convey positive social values. Entries may not include controversial content involving pornography, violence, religion, race, or regional discrimination.
Participants must hold full copyright to their works. The host assume no legal liability for disputes arising from portrait rights, privacy, defamation, or copyright issues.
Submissions may be used for non-profit promotional activities related to the competition (such as exhibitions, publicity, publications, or derivative works) without additional remuneration.
Winners must cooperate with the host to provide necessary personal information for prize distribution.
The Organizing Committee reserves the final interpretation rights of the competition.
4.Awards
The competition offers a diverse and well-structured award system.
Essay Category – “Beauty in Words”
Awarded to essays conveying personal experiences and insights about China.
Prizes: Four First Prizes, Eight Second Prizes, Sixteen Third Prizes, Thirty Merit Awards
Short Video Category – “Beauty in Light and Shadow,” “Creative Innovation,” “Cultural Bridge,” “Light of Friendship”
Each award subcategory will have: One First Prize, Two Second Prizes, Four Third Prizes, and Eight Merit Awards
Special Awards
Star of Popularity – Top 3 works in public voting (6 winners total)
Outstanding Organization Award – For institutions with outstanding contributions in organization.
5.Submission Methods
（1）Email Submission
Please place your essay or video work, Attachment 1: Entry Information Form, and Attachment 2: Copyright Confirmation and Authorization Agreement in one folder.
Name the folder as: Nationality + Name + School (if any) + Title of Work
Send to: essay@studyinchina.edu.cn
Deadline: 12:00 p.m., December 14, 2025
（2）Social Media Submission
Participants are encouraged to post your works on social media platforms with the official competition hashtags:
Chinese platforms: Upload to Douyin, WeChat Channels, or Rednote with the tag#我与中国的美丽邂逅
Global platforms: Upload to Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter) with the tag#MyBeautifulEncounterwithChina
Notes:
All participants submitting via social media are deemed to have agreed to all terms in the Attachment 2: Copyright Confirmation and Authorization Agreement and must sign it according to host instructions.
Attachments can be downloaded from:
Baidu Netdisk:
https://pan.baidu.com/s/1rRe6Py6MYfMgqMXiKvEGnQ
(Access code: 8d6b)
Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15QRfqRGh_2G3MXDaNHkY-k3Vq7r3Kbow?usp=drive_link
For inquiries, please contact:
Email: essay@studyinchina.edu.cn
Tel: 010-62677596 / 7591, +86 15535400519, +86 18700909972
6.Evaluation Process
The evaluation will be conducted in three stages:
Preliminary Review: The organizing committee will screen all entries to ensure compliance with competition themes and requirements.
Public Voting: One week of online voting will be held, allowing the public to vote for their favorite essays and videos. Results will serve as a reference for the expert panel.
Expert Review: Judges will comprehensively evaluate works based on theme relevance, creativity, visual quality, emotional resonance, and expression.
Evaluation Criteria:
The final winners will be primarily determined based on expert review scores, while also considering the work’s media performance and relevance to the award category.
The Outstanding Organization Award will be determined based on the quantity and quality of entries submitted by the institution.
The Star of Popularity Award will be based on the top three essays and videos receiving the highest number of votes during the public voting stage.
Certificates and other awards will be issued to winners and institutions to recognize their achievements.
Each work may indicate one intended award category for reference during evaluation.
Entries from previous editions are ineligible.
Participants must ensure compliance with intellectual property laws regarding fonts, music, and video materials. Any infringement will result in disqualification.
AI-assisted video works must comply with relevant legal and platform requirements. Participants bear full responsibility for any infringement caused by AI-generated content.
Submission of works implies the participant’s consent to grant reproduction and online distribution rights to the host free of charge for non-profit promotional purposes.
