US teenagers showed off their Chinese language proficiency over the weekend at the finals of the fourth "Chinese Bridge" US High School Student Chinese Speech Contest.

High school students from 21 US states participated in the competition. The finals were held at the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute in Boston.

Organizers say the event aims to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in speaking a language which is increasingly important to American business and culture, and encourage more interest in the language and China.

Many of the students have lived in China as exchange students or volunteers.