Q1: What’s the origin of the First International Contest for Creative Communication of China Story?
A1: The contest originated from an embarrassing reality, namely the “China’s story is perfectly wonderful, but China’s discourse is bitterly flat.” The International Contest for Creative Communication of China Story aims to implement the idea of “telling the story of China and transmitting the voice of China.” Targeted at people both at home and abroad, the project collects China’s stories that are easy to understand, beloved by people, and deserved to be shared. Aimed at creatively exploring, concentrating, and cultivating “stories of China with an international expression,” this contest will help China establish a larger global voice, improve its international communication capabilities, and shape China’s national image.
Q2: What’s the meaning of “China” in “China Story”?
A2: It both refers to “China” temporally (traditional, modern, and future China) and spatially (China belonging to itself, Asia, and the world). Therefore, participants can adopt a creative attitude toward the relationship between the “Three Chinas” in time and space. We place great emphasis on Chinese stories that integrate ancient days and modern times, stories at home and abroad, and those stories relating to “cultural China. By doing so, we work to give an account of fantastic Chinese stories and showcase positive values, highlighting the fact that China is vigorous, beautiful, and imbued with positive energy, and not otherwise.
Q3: What are the specific topics of this contest? From which perspectives are the narrative texts developed?
A3: Based on the theory put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping of “telling China’s stories and spreading Chinese voices,” the contest develops an all-inclusive design of five themes: the story of the Chinese dream, the Chinese people, the Chinese culture, and Chinese brands, as well as the annual feature story, from microcosmic, macroscopic, cultural, and brand dimensions, which are as follows:
1. The story of the Chinese dream
Show your creative ideas and the corresponding representations in a macro perspective, with a focus on Chinese rejuvenation, Chinese model, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the spirit of craftsman, etc.
2. The story of the Chinese people
Show your creative ideas and the corresponding representations in a micro perspective, with a focus on Chinese daily life, hardworking individuals, and undergraduate entrepreneurship, etc.
3. The story of the Chinese culture
Show your creative ideas and the corresponding representations in a cultural perspective, with a focus on the culture of the Chinese Spring Festival, Chinese characters, Journey to the West, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, etc.
4. The story of Chinese brands
Show your creative ideas and the corresponding representations in a brand perspective, with a focus on indigenous Chinese enterprises and their products, beautiful Chinese towns and villages.
5. Special topic of the year
(1) The story of Journey to the West (Journey to the West Park); (2) The story of Chinese delicacies (China time-honored brand Quanjude is optional); (3) The story of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in east China.
Q4: What are the differences between the annual feature story and other story topics? Do annual themes have a greater chance to win the prize?
A4: Annual stories deal with three topics: the story of the Journey to the West, the story of Chinese delicacies, and the story of Hangzhou, and they are sponsored by Journey to the West Culture Investment Co. Ltd., China Quanjude (Group) Co. Ltd., and Hangzhou City Brand Promotion Association, respectively. The selection of themes for this year has nothing to do with winning prizes, and the difference resides in the special awards, which are limited to annual themes, with the winner obtaining 20,000 yuan. Among these annual themes, the story of the Journey to the West and the story of Hangzhou are exclusive propositions, which means that participants have no choice but to do their creative design work with the specified materials offered by the two themes, while the ranges of topic selection for stories about Chinese food are not confined to Quanjude.