News from Asia Pacific Daily 一间神奇的教室

English Translation

On 10 May 2016 a new Confucius Classroom was opened in Wellington East Girls’ College which is located in the city centre of Wellington. Wen Powles, Director of the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, remarked that the establishment of this Confucius Classroom would help strengthen cultural communication and links between China and New Zealand.  Through learning Chinese, New Zealand students could increase their competitive edge as global citizens of the future.

Last year the 2015 New Zealand Chinese Language Week was inaugurated at Wellington East Girls’ College.  Minister of Education, the Honourable Hekia Parata, joined in the dancing by students to celebrate its inauguration.  On 10 May five students from this school performed a Chinese Lion Dance to celebrate the opening of their Confucius Classroom. They learnt the steps from a local Chinese lion dance troupe and mastered this “festive art” following many hours of training. Along with the drum beats, the “lions” walked from the door to the stage. Several of them even naughtily carried off students’ schoolbags.

During the inauguration a student wrote the Chinese characters for “cheongsam” exquisitely on Chinese art paper. She told the reporter that she had been to China with her family, and the cheongsam and Chinese scenic spots had left a deep impression on her. She added that she had watched the TV  news about China every day and believed that learning Chinese language and culture would benefit her future development.

Chen Yue, Counsellor of the Education Office at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Zealand, said to the reporter that as the relationship between China and New Zealand deepened, more young New Zealanders were learning Chinese as their second language. This could lay a foundation of better knowledge of China and Asia.  The Confucius Classroom represented the nature of this relationship most directly.

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