From the gu zheng, an instrument thousands of years old, to special tea ceremonies, the Tauranga branch of the NZ China Friendship Society promotes Chinese culture to local residents.
“In Tauranga we have more than 200 members, about half are local Kiwi and half are Chinese,” said president Tina Zhang.
“This is a good way to let Chinese people meet and have friendships with local people.”
Zhang said the society helps migrants settle into the area by helping them find homes and jobs. It also works with authorities to keep members updated in an emergency.
“We work with [Tauranga City Council] to let our members know what they should do in an emergency.
“For example, we let them know about emergency bags, so if something happens they know what kind of things they need to bring and to pack a bag ... in one minute they can just go.”
At the heart of the society though, is keeping members connected to some of China’s biggest celebrations.
“Every year we have two big celebrations,” Zhang said.
“One is the Moon festival and one is the Chinese New Year, where we gather all the Chinese people and make it like a family.
“We also invite Kiwi people to join us and know more about our Chinese culture.”
Fiona Lin, 15, has been playing the gu zheng for almost one year and performs at the society’s local festivals. She picked up the traditional instrument as a way to honour her homeland.
“Most people are learning Western instruments like violin and piano and I want to save our traditions and play this so everyone can see this is still going on,” she said.
“My instrument has 21 strings and you play it with plucks that you tie around your hand with tapes. It’s kind of similar to guitar but it has more strings and different sounds.”
Society Treasurer Lin Ma said traditional tea ceremonies, held at its office in the Historic Village, are also an important cultural ritual.
“Most people that come from China don’t know anyone here, so we want to have a room for them where they can talk. Local people can get to know a little bit of Chinese culture like tea and calligraphy here too.”
Ma said Chinese tea “is like art” and reminds its members of home.
“We offer people green tea, white tea and black tea. We also have a special tea which is Chinese orange tea.”
The seventh New Zealand Chinese Folk Culture Festival was recently cancelled due to bad weather, but the society is planning to reschedule the event in late February.
Held at the Historic Village, it will be an opportunity for locals to see, hear and taste unique Chinese culture.
A major drawcard of the event will be a unique food street where festival goers will be able to try authentic Chinese food.
“All the Chinese food is homemade and you can’t find it in the restaurants,” Zhang said.
“I asked the Chinese community who would like to cook their traditional hometown food. Because we’re from different hometowns they all have different types of food.
“For example, we’ve got a barbecue [dish] that’s like a kebab and you can’t find it anywhere in Tauranga.”
