Twenty Chinese language teachers from 15 middle schools in Wellington participate in a mooncake workshop to kick off the 2020 New Zealand Chinese Language Week as well as usher in this year’s celebrations of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the country. [Photo by Zhang Jianyong/ provided to Chinaculture.org]

Apart from making and sampling the mooncakes, the participants also enjoyed a kung fu tea ceremony and a bamboo flute performance.

Guo Zongguang, the center director, said local Chinese language teachers should have both abilities required of elementary education as well as a good grasp of the essence of traditional Chinese culture. He hoped that workshops of this kind, besides as a platform for them to exchange notes, would also bring them some inspiration for their teaching in the future.

Initiated in 2014 by Labor MP Raymond Huo, the New Zealand Chinese Language Week is designed to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand by delivering fun and practical initiatives that assist locals to learn Chinese.