On June 8, the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition was held in Beijing. The event was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and the Information Office of Henan Provincial People’s Government and co-organized by the Information Office of Zhengzhou Municipal People’s Government and Xufang International Media under CICG. More than 100 people attended the ceremony, including representatives of partner institutions, international creators, supporting organizations, and institutions under CICG.

Group photo of guests at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

When addressing the ceremony, Yu Tao, vice president of CICG, said that Henan, as the main birthplace of Chinese civilization, has a profound historical background and rich cultural resources. CICG’s partnership with Henan and Zhengzhou to gather excellent short video works with international vision that are suitable for international communication and telling Chinese stories in this competition is a powerful practice to meet the needs of international communication in the new era and innovate the way of spreading Chinese culture abroad. This effort helps to tell Zhengzhou and Henan stories well in the new era, and Chinese stories as well.

Yu Tao, vice president of CICG, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

Zhao Yunlong, deputy head of the Publicity Department of Henan Provincial Party Committee, said that Henan, an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, has been the national political, economic and cultural center for over 3,000 years. Keeping in mind Chinese President Xi Jinping’s instruction of “courageously striving for the first place and being more brilliant”, Henan has been committed to Henan practice of Chinese modernization in recent years. Henan sincerely invites experts, scholars, industry representatives, and creative teams from around the world to come to Henan and gain a better understanding of a credible, lovely and respectable China.

Zhao Yunlong, deputy head of the Publicity Department of Henan Provincial Party Committee, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

Chen Ming, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhengzhou Municipal Committee and head of the committee’s Publicity Department, said that “My China Story” International Short Video Competition will include “Zhengzhou Wonderful Tour” in the annual collection this year, and Zhengzhou will take the opportunity to accelerate the construction of a pivot of the national inheritance and innovation base for Chinese historical civilization, and contribute Zhengzhou’s strength to spread the Chinese civilization to the world and promote the exchanges of world civilizations.

Chen Ming, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhengzhou Municipal Committee and head of the committee’s Publicity Department, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

In her keynote speech, Huang Huilin, a senior professor at Beijing Normal University and president of the Academy of International Communication of Chinese Culture, said that the outstanding works of the “My China Story” International Short Video Competition, with distinct themes, fresh and interesting stories, real and vivid characters and professional narrative photography, tell foreign audiences Chinese stories that they can understand and identify with from an international perspective, providing a deeper insight into China.

Huang Huilin, a senior professor at Beijing Normal University and president of the Academy of International Communication of Chinese Culture, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

Vikram Channa, vice president of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks and head of Content & Products for East and Southeast Asia, said that Zhengzhou, Henan Province, with compelling stories around the hometown of the Yellow Emperor, the ruins of the Shang Dynasty, Shaolin Kung Fu, China Railway Express, is a city of great importance to showcase the Chinese civilization and the Yellow River civilization. “I expect to see more Chinese and foreign creators in this competition to tell Chinese stories with bolder and more diverse lenses,” he said.

Vikram Channa, vice president of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks and head of Content & Products for East and Southeast Asia, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

Tamar Kvlividze, a video blogger from Georgia, said that she was happy to share her experience of studying and living in China to her hometown audience through short videos and introduce China’s various aspects such as technology, lifestyle, cuisine and culture to overseas audiences.

Tamar Kvlividze, a video blogger from Georgia, speaks at the launch ceremony of the 5th “My China Story” International Short Video Competition on June 8, 2023. [Photo by CICG]

According to Wang Xinling, executive deputy general manager of Xufang International Media and representative of the host of the competition, the 5th edition continues the previous four theme units of “Discovering China across the World”, “Expat’s Experiences”, “Town and Country Tour”, “A Bite of Chinese Food Worldwide”, and set up the annual unit of “Wonderful Tour of Zhengzhou” and the theme unit of “Traveling in Henan, Understanding China”. Efforts have been made to further optimize and enrich the series activities based on previous successful experience. The contest’s creative proposal solicitation has begun and will remain in effect until July 8, and the deadline of work submission is until August 31. All creators from home and abroad are welcome to participate.

How to submit your work(s):

1. Upload your video(s) to your or your team’s account on Xigua Video, Toutiao, Bilibili, or Weibo. Follow the platforms’ instructions and tick your video(s) with the tag of the competition name to sign up for “My China Story” International Short Video Competition.

• Upload your video(s) to Pan.baidu.com or Google Drive, and then send relevant link(s) and password(s) to mychinastory@cnmatters.com via email. The subject line of your email should follow this format: Name-Title of the video-“Competition Submissions”. 

• After submitting your entry, please scan the QR code below to fill out the entry form.

For more information, please visit the competition’s website: www.mychinastory.com.Contact: Miss Li (Tel: 86-010-68996991)