The first edition of the Home Away from Home Essay Contest for foreign friends with a China story ended in November 2021. 55 contestants from 31 countries shared their unique China stories and we are so grateful for it!
All their support encouraged us to launch the second edition of Home Away from Home!
This activity aims to collect China stories by foreigners, show a real, authentic, and comprehensive China to the world, change stereotypes and prejudices about Chinese culture and Chinese people, and enhance understanding and friendship between China and foreign countries.
CONTEST RULES
Suitable participants:
Foreign citizens over the age of 18 who are legally residing in China
Theme and requirements
The contest’s theme : MY HOME in China
Essay requirements:
1) Concise and clear self-introduction at the beginning (name, nationality, occupation, residence time in China) and a short introduction about your home country (hometown) at the end of the article.
2) The topic is self-designed, the genre is not limited, and the number of words is 800~1000 words or a similar length of characters IN ANY LANGUAGE. We are Master Translations, so we will make sure to translate your story!
3)Please include at least three photos of yourself in China or landscapes of the city where you live, taken by yourself. Please send us a Word file and remember to include your WeChat ID and phone number for us to contact you. Your personal data won’t be disclosed without your permission.
4) We encourage participants to submit articles and attach a short video of 2~4 minutes related to the theme in your story. You can show us the city, the food, or your activities there. Please hold your phone horizontally to make the video. Attaching a video is optional, but it will give you a bonus point for the final classification.
Requirements for video submission:
– 2 to 4 minutes video in English or Chinese
– Please hold your phone HORIZONTALLY (landscape mode).
– Content: your life in China.
– No need to add subtitles.
Submit your video using www.wetransfer.com to luz@mts-tech.com or using another file sharing platform that you like.
5) Submission email: luz@mts-tech.com
NEW SPECIAL CLAUSE (Added on June 15th, 2022)
Are you a Chienese citizen and have a foreign friend with an amazing story? You can invite your friend to write his/her China story for Home Away From Home. If your friend’ story wins, you two can decide how to split the prize earnings.
Requirements: The Chinese person must write a short (around 200 words) introduction explaining how he/she met the foreign friend. Following, the foreign friend can write his/her China story (around 800 words) following the general rules of this competition.
Thank you and good luck! Questions? Please add our competition WeChat account MTS20211213 or scan this QR code:
Suggested themes:
1. Why did you choose to live in this city, and which part of the city attracts you the most;
2. What fascinates you most about living in this city;
3. Your favorite city attractions and local food;
4. A unique experience/person that makes this city your home away from home;
5. Please share at least 3 photos to illustrate the story, and please show us your cute face in 1 of the three at least.
6. What is your project in China or your “China dream”?
Save these dates
Call for works and online selection:
April 8, 2022 to July 31, 2022
July 31st is the last day to submit your story.
Any story received after this date will be excluded.
Expert review:
August 8, 2022 ~ August 31, 2022
Winner announcement:
September 8, 2022
Prizes
A total of 7 authors will be entitled to our prizes.
1st Prize (1 Winner)
￥5000 + Translation coupon (worth￥200) + Mystery Prize
Second Prize (2 Winners)
￥2000 + Translation coupon (worth￥200) + Mystery Prize
3rd Prize (3 Winners)
￥1000 + Translation coupon (worth￥200) + Mystery Prize
Internet Popularity Award
￥1500 + Mystery Prize
Plus, all participants will receive a commemorative prize and Participation in lucky draws to win prizes from our sponsors.
MTS will donate 200 yuan per story received to support the education of disadvantaged rural youths.
Winners Selection Rules
The winner of the Internet Popularity Award will be chosen exclusively (100%) from the votes the story gets from social media scoring (explained below).
The winners of the 1st prize, 2nd two prizes, and 3rd three prizes will be chosen by the following system:
Social media (50%) + expert review (50%), combined score.
Social media scoring stage
During the process of collecting works, they will be published on social media. According to the number of social media readings and likes, the works with the highest scores will be selected to win the “Internet Popularity Award” set by the event.
Expert review stage
According to the social media scoring weight of 50% and the expert review scoring weight accounting for 50%, the top 6 will be selected as the event’s first, second, and third prize winning works.
MTS Official WeChat account, Babel Tower Official WeChat account and Yi Jiantang WeChat account number of Article reads + number of likes（25%）
MTS Foreign Social Media likes Facebook + Instagram（25%）
Expert Review（50%）
Note
☉ The submitted content must be original.
☉ In the selection stage, any form of cheating is prohibited, found cheaters will be disqualified, and we will be sad.
☉ The ownership and publishing rights of relevant text, photos, videos and other materials during the event belong to the event organizer.
☉ Winners cannot win multiple prizes. If the prizes conflict, the highest prize will prevail, and the other prize will be automatically transferred to the next participant.
☉ The final interpretation right of the event belongs to the organizer.
☉ Third-party use of the stories and pictures has to seek approval from the organizer.
Home Away from Home is a collection of the unique stories written by foreigners in China and compiled by Master Translations Co., Ltd., Babeltower Translation Co., Ltd., and Mozi Beijing Co., Ltd., aiming to explore the unique stories of foreign friends who came to China from all over the world. These stories give them a chance to express their feelings (curiosity and loss due to cultural shock), their experiences in overcoming differences in their studies, work and travel.