Shining in International Competition

February 2026

The Chinese Bridge competition is an international event celebrating Chinese language and culture. More than 50,000 university students from 141 countries competed in the 2025 event. Champions, more than 150 of them, traveled to China for the finals. Among them was BYU sophomore Ashley Breinholt, who finished second.

“I was so grateful to have made it to that point,” she says. This is the highest placement ever earned by a BYU student and only the sixth time that an American has placed in the last 24 years.

BYU Professor ShuPei Wang mentored Breinholt in Chinese trivia, musical performances, and formal speeches. “In my final speech,” Breinholt says, “I talked about the process of language learning and how that has helped me see similarities between the Chinese culture and myself.”

Breinholt first learned the language and experienced the culture as a missionary in Taiwan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She says that participating in the competition increased her language confidence. She studies Chinese and neuroscience at BYU and is grateful for her time in China.

“The most valuable thing that I learned was the beauty of having so many different cultures and perspectives and people from all over the world come together,” she says.

Support for the Inspiring Learning Initiative makes experiences like Breinholt’s possible for many BYU students.