New Zealand Chinese Language Week
New Zealand Chinese Language Week (NZCLW) is a highlight of the Institute’s calendar, giving partner schools and communities a chance to celebrate together
The first of its kind in any Western country, NZCLW seeks to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand by delivering fun and practical initiatives that assist Kiwis to learn Chinese.
NZCLW 2026 dates are Sunday 29 June to Saturday 5 July.
Check out our events page to see what's on at Pipitea, Kelburn, and Te Aro campuses.
Confucius Institute highlights of NZCLW 2025
The Confucius Institute marked New Zealand Chinese Language Week (NZCLW) with an exciting range of cultural and language activities across schools and communities. Our Mandarin Language Assistants (MLAs) were at the heart of the celebrations, delivering interactive sessions that included Chinese calligraphy, traditional games, Chinese book readings, music, and hands-on language learning experiences.
A highlight of this year’s NZCLW Opening Ceremony was a performance by one of our National Chinese Song Contest winners, Lucy Singleton, who closed the event with a beautiful rendition of the song 但愿人长久 (May We Be Blessed With Longevity). We also congratulate all our NZCLW Language Superstar awardees: Billie Dufty from Whanganui High School and Jessie Strong from Wellington Girls’ College, as well as our Teacher Superstar awardees: Feng Yu from Wellington College, Destine Haeata Kuku from Otaki College, and Li Feng-Brignall from Tauranga Girls’ College.
Other highlights included calligraphy and language pop-ups across Victoria University of Wellington campuses, school workshops featuring lion dance, guzheng, and erhu, and our inaugural NZCLW colouring competition for primary schools, which was very well received with over 1,000 entries.
Tauranga Intermediate School hosted its annual NZCLW Chinese competition celebrating China–New Zealand friendship, attracting hundreds of entries across 10 categories from local primary schools. Otaki College continued its tradition with the annual Discover China Day, offering students an immersive cultural experience.