Celebrating 15 years of fraternity

Longtime friendship

Ties between Wuhan and Christchurch span decades.

In 1932, Rewi Alley, a renowned writer, educator and member of the Communist Party of China came to Wuhan from Christchurch to take part in relief efforts following massive flooding that had been caused by the Yangtze a year earlier.

In 2004, Garry Moore, then mayor of Christchurch, brought a delegation of about 50 officials and business leaders to Wuhan to sign a strategic partnership agreement covering sectors including education, information technology and property development.

MacWilliam said the partnership has been "undoubtedly very successful" over the years.

"A sister city relationship must grow and continually seek ways to engage with people from all walks of life, ages and interests to remain relevant," she added.

From an educational perspective, strong ties have led to joint educational ventures and student exchanges between universities, and there has also been notable cooperation in terms of business.

In 2008, for example, Ngai Tahu Seafood in Christchurch delivered crayfish to Wuhan for official functions.

This opened the doors for what is now considered a very successful arrangement for the company. It began regularly exporting their products to China.

There have also been numerous other instances of cooperation.

Since 2017, Christchurch has sent swimmers to the Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival, which attracts more than 5,000 participants each year, and the annual lantern festival held in Christchurch in February provides an opportunity for visitors from Wuhan to showcase their culture.

In May, Christchurch launched a Wuhan website to introduce its history, culture, business opportunities and sister city activities to residents. The Wuhan government will do the same for Christchurch this month.

In June, officials from the two cities held a Zoom meeting in the presence of their mayors to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their relationship. During the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed, which outlined plans to increase exchanges in education, culture and tourism over the next five years.

The two sides are also planning more digital engagements, including regular business forums on Zoom, and promoting more exchanges related to technological research.

MacWilliam said talented people from Wuhan living in Christchurch have also contributed to the exchanges.

Gan Kaiwan and his wife, Yu Yuzhen, both born in Wuhan, have lived in New Zealand for 32 years. While working at the Tongji Medical College at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, they were invited to participate in chemistry research at Canterbury University in Christchurch in 1990 and decided to remain there afterward.

Gan said Christchurch has about 20,000 to 30,000 Chinese people, the first of whom arrived in the late 1990s.