Li Hao, Luo Miao

EIGHT local expats stood out from 16 contestants from 11 countries in Saturday’s semi-final of the 2nd Shenzhen Expats Chinese Talent Competition at the InterContinental Shenzhen in Overseas Chinese Town.

The eight finalists will compete to be No. 1 Nov. 9.

Ham Ji-heun, 12, a South Korean girl, came in first place among the finalists for her fluent speech in Chinese.

All the contestants Saturday were required to give a Chinese speech entitled “I learn Chinese this way” before giving a performance.

“I began my Chinese study in kindergarten at age 5. I found it hard to learn Chinese when surrounded by kids who could already speak it fluently. However, my best friend, a South Korean classmate, offered to be my translator. Gradually, I could understand what the Chinese kids were saying,” said the girl who came to China seven years ago and later came to Shenzhen where her father works.

Ham sang the Chinese pop song “Invisible Wings,” which moved each member of the audience.

“I love singing and dancing. I always represented my school in cultural performances, winning many awards,” said the girl.

Although singing was the most popular type of performance in the semifinal, a quiet and skilled performance of taichi, a traditional Chinese shadowboxing, by German Nicole Luberitz drew much attention from photographers.

Dressed in a traditional white taichi costume, the 30-year-old Luberitz waved her hands and moved her feet with discipline and serenity.

“I watched a Chinese film about jianghu [a Chinese cultural concept] 20 years ago in Germany, since then I have been interested in Chinese martial arts. I later enrolled at Berlin University to study Sinology,” said Luberitz in her Chinese speech.

During her time at the university, Luberitz got a scholarship to study Chinese at Wuhan University in China. She spent much of her time communicating with local Chinese.

“I learned taichi because it is good for both my physical and mental health. It helps me achieve peace of mind,” said Luberitz, who started learning taichi in 2000 and has a profound understanding of traditional Chinese shadowboxing.

Luberitz is working in Shenzhen as a sound recorder, translator and tutor.

“I am attracted by Chinese culture, which has a long history. I want to stay in China for a long time,” she said.

The competition, which is aimed at encouraging expats to learn Chinese, was hosted by the Organizing Committee of the Shenzhen Speaks Foreign Languages campaign and the Information Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, and organized by Shenzhen Daily.

More than 300 expatriates from 30 countries entered the annual contest last year.

Statistics from the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau show there are about 460,000 expatriates from 115 countries and regions in the city. Of these, more than 20,000 are living here permanently or for at least one year. The number of foreigners visiting Shenzhen and staying overnight was 1.68 million in 2010, Shenzhen tourist authority figures show.