Zhang Xiaoyi

    417880236@qq.com

    CHOI HYUN-JEONG came in first in the sixth Shenzhen Expats Chinese Talent Competition with her performance as the lead role in a play version of Mulan at the Futian Library Saturday afternoon.

    The 20-year-old South Korean only began rehearsing three weeks ago.

    “I didn’t think I would win any award. It is the support and help of my classmates that gave me confidence,” said Choi after the show.

    Saturday’s contest finals had a speech themed “My Shenzhen Story” and a talent show. Nine contestants made it to the finals. They hailed from Sri Lanka, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Italy and Bangladesh.

    The winning performance was adapted from the traditional Chinese story of Mulan, who disguised herself as a man and served in the army. The story comes from an ancient poem written in the Northern Wei Dynasty (220-265).

    Kim Seo-ra, dressed in a traditional Chinese theater costume, performed a song about Mulan, coming in second place.

    Leonid Burdiuzha, from Ukraine, used a laptop and keyboards to perform an electronic song matched with a video featuring Buddhist monks and the thousand-hand Bodhisattva dance.

    Nikhila Kodituwakku from Sri Lanka recited the poem “Ooze Garden, Spring Snow” by the late Chairman Mao Zedong. “I think he is around fifth or sixth place in the contest,” said Kodituwakku’s father offstage. “Because many of the contestants speak excellent Chinese.”

    The contest was organized by Shenzhen Municipal Government Information Office, Futian District Foreign Affairs Office and Shenzhen Daily.