City Students Off To Chinese Schools

CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL

To: Chief Reporter / Council Reporter
From: David Gee - Journalist
Media statement 2 December 1999

CITY STUDENTS OFF TO CHINESE SCHOOLS

Four Christchurch students will go to school in China next year as part of a cultural exchange scheme.

They are Haley Anderson (Christchurch Girls' High School), Kelly Begg (Burnside High School), Daniel Kennett (Lincoln High) and Nick Dalton (Shirley Boys' High).

All have studied Chinese for last least three years and they will go to the Gansu province, which has sister-city links with the Christchurch City Council. They will stay in the homes of four Chinese students and attend school with them. These four Chinese students will be in Christchurch in February and they will live with the four Christchurch students who will later travel to China in April.

The Christchurch-Gansu Friendly Relations Committee, the City Council, and the Asia 2000 Foundation fund the scheme. Christchurch's four study Chinese at school and they will be accompanied by a Burnside High School teacher of Chinese, Terina Yee.

Next year the Christchurch-Gansu Friendly Relations Committee will erect a traditional Chinese gate at the entrance to the Gansu garden in the International Sister Cities Gardens Park in the old Halswell Quarry. This will be ready for the official November opening and designs are being drawn up in Gansu.

Also, efforts are being made to get a well-known sculptor from Gansu to take part in the Art-in-the-Park programme in February when she will carve a piece of Oamaru stone along with a score of other sculptors.

* Next year the committee hopes to send a Christchurch sports administrator to the city of Lanzhou to make sporting contacts for sports exchanges starting in 2001. It also plans to bring an interpreter to Christchurch for six months for education. It has been done four times previously. Trade links are being pursued also.

* Today (2 December) from 6.30pm at the Christchurch Polytech Christchurch students of Chinese will be presented with awards

Further information: Dave Adamson, International Relations Co-ordinator, City Council: 371 1775

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