One of the most important and celebrated traditional festivals in Chinese communities worldwide is the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), also known as the Moon Festival. Being on the other side of the world, in Auckland, the Festival coincides with spring rather than autumn. Nevertheless, the Confucius Institute (CI) opened its doors at Pembridge House, on 22nd September to welcome friends and colleagues, to join in an afternoon tea to celebrate the occasion, and to share in the spirit of friendship and harmony – two key aspects of the Festival.

Opening with a karakia blessing, short addresses were given by Professor Adrienne Cleland, DVC Operations; and Professor Robert Greenberg, Dean, Faculty of Arts. Both expressed their delight at being able to attend and acknowledged CI’s role in being a hub for Auckland to support Chinese language and culture as well as a bridge for fostering multicultural communication.

Professor Paul Clark, a renowned Sinologist in New Zealand and overseas and a member of CI’s advisory board, extended greetings in Chinese and then touched on the longevity of CI’s Mandarin Language Assistant (MLA) programme, which plays a pivotal role in Chinese language and culture learning in New Zealand schools. He also provided an insight into the history and stories behind the Mid-Autumn Festival and noted the similarities of celebrations revolving around harvests, unity, and harmony amongst different cultures.

Attendees on the afternoon, represented various areas within the University as well as those linked with the work of CI. Coinciding with Chinese Language Week, people engaged with each other, sipped on Chinese tea, sampled a variety of mooncakes and other delicacies, and had the opportunity to observe and experience cultural activities such as paper cutting, traditional Chinese painting, and calligraphy.

The event focused on and achieved the aim of cultural exchange, friendship, and celebration.

For more information on the Mid-Autumn Festival go here, or view the video below.

Food is always a good way to spark interest! So as part of their long-standing Chinese programme, St Peter’s College (SPC) recently organised a dumpling-making activity in their Chinese classroom for over 220 students from Year 7 to Year 13. The event took place over two days – 2nd and 3rd of May – as part of SPC’s Chinese language and culture programme.

During the event, students had the opportunity to learn how to make dumplings and use chopsticks, as well as acquiring new vocabulary and conversation skills. Ms Bingmei Zhang, SPC’s Chinese teacher and Ms Chen, the Mandarin Language Assistant (MLA), together with other teachers from the Chinese community, led the activity and made it a hit with students and a number of SPC teachers who also participated and showed great enthusiasm.

As one of the Confucius Institute in Auckland’s network of schools, SPC has been running its Confucius Classroom since 2014, providing students with an ongoing programme and unique opportunities to learn about Chinese language and culture. With ‘delicious’ events like the dumpling-making activity, students can develop a better understanding and appreciation of other cultures while also having fun, learning new skills, and possibly being hungry for more!

Students enjoying dumplings