XIN NIAN KUAI LE – HAPPY NEW YEAR
Best Wishes for the
Year of the Philosophical Snake
The full pdf of this newsletter is available at: NZCFSNelsonJanuary2013.pdf
We hope you have had a relaxed and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends and are looking forward to a wonderful year ahead.
The Year of the Snake or Serpent, the sixth symbol on the Chinese calendar, officially slides in on the 10th of February and we are fortunate to be able to celebrate the Chinese New Year with our usual Banquet and Annual General Meeting that very day. We hope you will be able to join us for this wonderful occasion.
Let’s start the New Year with a hiss and a roar!
Sunday 10 February .. Eastern Cuisine Restaurant .. 5:45 pm
To arrange catering please ring:
Barbara Markland ph. 544 4712 by Tuesday 5 February
or e-mail: [email protected]
The Eastern Cuisine, 275 Queen Street, Richmond, is well-known for great banquets, and they are giving us exclusive use of the restaurant, provided we have at least 40 people. As we have 10 Chinese teachers joining us this year, we are sure that won’t be a problem! Your family members, friends, visitors, and guests are all most welcome to attend this celebration.
The cost for the Banquet is $30. The usual beverages (juice, soft drinks, beer and wine) will be available for purchase from the restaurant and if you wish to bring your own wine, the corkage fee is $5.
To make things easier for the restaurant, members and their invited guests will pay for the banquet at the door – only by cheque or cash please. If you wish, you could pay beforehand, directly to our Branch bank account via internet banking – see details below.
Other payments, such as corkage and drinks, will be made directly to the restaurant.
You are also invited to make a donation towards the He Ming Qing Scholarships on the night – a donation tin will be available.
It would be very much appreciated if everyone could be there by 5.45pm to enable the brief AGM to begin at 6pm. The banquet will commence about 7pm. In between, we are planning some entertainment.
If you prefer, you can pay directly via internet banking to the NZ China Friendship Society – Nelson Branch bank account at Westpac 03-0703-0369680-00. Please make sure you enter your name as the reference and then email both Barbara Markland at [email protected] and Treasurer, Royden Smith, at [email protected] who can then confirm your payment has been received.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: Items on the agenda will include: the President’s Report, the Financial Report, the Election of Officers, and any General Business.
As some of the current team are unavailable for re-election, new committee members would be happily welcomed, especially for the position of Vice President. Nominations for all positions will be taken at the meeting but, if you might be interested, you can contact President Christine to find out more.
2013 SUBSCRIPTIONS: As our Branch accounts are reasonably healthy, the Treasurer will recommend at the AGM that our subscriptions remain unchanged:
That Nelson Branch subscriptions for 2013 remain the same as 2012:
Single $15 Couple $25 School $25 Corporate $30
2013 BRANCH MEETINGS: Please mark these dates on your calendar and keep them free for our Branch Meetings during 2013 – all Friday evenings as usual:
15 March 3 May (3 weeks before National Conference)
28 June 16 August 11 October 22 November
NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2013: The 2013 National Conference and AGM will be hosted by the Christchurch Branch at the University of Canterbury from 24-26 May. The theme of the Conference is “Culture”, and Christchurch President, Dave Adamson, and his dedicated team have been working hard on preparing a very interesting programme. It would be great to see a good contingent from Nelson there this year, especially when it is just a few hours drive away. More details in the next newsletter.
MEMBER NEWS: Sadly, Ailsa Clarke suffered a severe stroke a few weeks ago and has been transferred to the Continuing Care Unit at The Wood Retirement Village. We will very much miss her smiley face at our meetings.
We welcome Robert Smart as a new member and our first financial member for the year. Robert lives in Picton but is very keen to come over for our meetings.
Mark Soper has contacted us via our website after returning to Nelson. Recently, he has been studying and teaching at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and he has a particular interest in the promotion of Chinese tea.
We congratulate Lang Chao (Super) Zhang on her new job at NMIT, working with international students.
President Christine and Committee Member Bruce Ward will be travelling to Europe for a long-planned holiday in the middle of the year. Somehow we will manage without them!
NZCFS TOURS: The new and exciting Explore China: The South-East Tour, led by Sally Russell, is definitely heading away to Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces in April with an excellent number of participants. If you are still looking for a wonderful China itinerary at that time, there is room for a couple more. Details are on our website at: https://nzchinasociety.org.nz/11800/explore-china-the-south-east-april-6-26-2013/
John Hodgson, President of Tauranga Branch, is organising and leading an NZCFS Taster Tour To China for Prospective Teachers of English from 20 April – 4 May, 2013. This tour is for people interested in finding out what it is really like to teach English in China and will visit at least six different institutions, universities, colleges or other schools around Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and provide opportunities to talk with students and school staff. The tour will also provide a taste of culture and history in China with visits to Xi’an and the Terracotta Army and to Beijing and The Great Wall, all priced at only $4,400 twin share.
For more information contact John Hodgson ph 07 577 0583 or [email protected]
Or see: https://nzchinasociety.org.nz/11658/nzcfs-taster-tour-to-china-for-prospective-teachers-of-english/
Please remember that, even if you are unable to travel yourself, we are very dependent on our members spreading the good word about our NZCFS tours. Many of you will have been on these tours before and know what great value they are. So, it would be very much appreciated if you could advertise the tours to all your family, friends and colleagues – the more Nelsonians the better so please persuade everyone you know to come and explore China some more!
Look out for other wonderful new tour itineraries for October, 2013, coming soon…
NELSON’S RACE UNITY DAY, MARCH 17: Evey McAuliffe has offered us a stall again this year. You might remember we had our first presence at Victory Park last year, when, unfortunately, it rained all day. Staff from the Confucius Institute in Christchurch did some calligraphy, and we helped arrange for a dragon dance to perform. This year we have decided to have a stall to advertise ourselves, serve Chinese tea, and have Chinese artefacts for sale to contribute to the He Ming Qing Scholarship fund.
We have some supplies of items remaining from previous auctions, and we are also appealing for more that could be sold on this occasion. If you have some suitable Chinese memorabilia, small or large, lurking in a corner, please let Christine know and we can collect as convenient, or you could bring them to the AGM.
Closer to that date, we will be calling for volunteers to help for an hour or two at our stall.
SISTER CITY REPORT:
Friendly City Links: As reported in the Nelson Mail, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Yangjiang in China indicating a ‘Friendly City’ relationship. The agreement names the Economic Development Agency as being responsible for liaison. Another has been suggested with Longyou County, at the request of Longyou, and this has been tabled by the Nelson City Council, but not actioned. In relation to these, the Executive Committee of your Branch has passed a motion: “While the Nelson Branch of NZCFS will be happy to offer friendship to visitors from other Chinese cities, available personnel and resources will not allow the Branch to take on any responsibility for cities other than Huangshi. The strong commitment to Nelson’s sister-city, Huangshi, will continue”.
Delegation Visit from Huangshi: A News and Media delegation of six people from Huangshi will be coming to Nelson in March. At Zugui’s request, an invitation has been sent to allow passport and visa applications to be made. The group will be in Nelson for 2 nights, perhaps the 11th and 12th March, although this is yet to be confirmed. The group includes Madam Liu Yin, who is the Director-General of the Huangshi Office of Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs and Tourism. Our understanding is that the purpose of this delegation is to help promotion of the Nelson region to possible tourists from Huangshi.
Delegation Visit to Huangshi: There has been no further action at this stage as we are awaiting the announcement of discount fares. These are likely to become available in February or March.
~ Barbara Markland
CHRISTINE WARD CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF EDUCATION REFORM IN CHINA:
In November, I returned to China for two weeks at the invitation of the Beijing Academy of Education Sciences which is attached to Beijing Normal University. The occasion was to mark 10 years since my books were translated there, and my ideas for ‘Brainfriendly’ teaching were adopted by some education districts as part of their reform research programmes.
During those ten years, I have made several trips to speak at conferences and seminars, often attended by five or six hundred teachers and school leaders. Sixteen groups (about 240 people) have been to Christchurch, and more recently to Nelson, to do my three-week training course. It was the greatest pleasure for me to meet up with many of these in November, to visit their schools and to hear their reports about the improvements that have been made in their school environment and their methods of teaching for the benefit of their students. The most dramatic changes have happened in schools where the Principals and/or Deputies have been to New Zealand and have been inspired by what they learned here. Many of the teachers who have been here are now leaders in their schools or are in Ministry positions for research or teacher training.
under the Great Wall grape vines.
The first conference in November was in Nanjing, where the keynote speech topic given to me was “Let the students be joyful learners”. Quite revolutionary for China! I gave this speech again a number of times as I visited schools in other places. After the conference, I did a bus tour with conference people, and enjoyed my first visit to the Hangzhou area. After returning to Beijing (4 hours on the train at 305 km/hr without stops), I visited the school near the Olympic ‘nest’ and ‘cube’ that caters for ‘immigrants’ from rural areas, has three campuses, so the children live nearby, and where I am an Honorary Principal.
Then it was over Badaling to Yanqing, a hot springs town with a very special vocational middle school with over 10,000 students, many of whom are farmers having a ‘second chance’ to study for their high school graduation. Special, approved courses have been set up to serve ‘Three Rural Issues’ including economic, cultural and vocational. There are three huge campuses with specialist services, but many classes are held in the surrounding countryside in the community primary schools, or in ‘field classes’ where 200 tutors give agricultural training according to the seasons. This is centre of the grape-growing district for Great Wall wine and many other horticultural enterprises, similar to Nelson, although there was some heavy snow in November. One Deputy Principal from Yanqing was here last August, and another is coming this week for the ‘New Year’ brainfriendly course in Nelson.
Later, I was in Shanxi Province where the Ministry of Education is just now setting up some reforms. It was great to visit this country area which is much like the old China I remember seeing from the train in 1988, except for the constant stream of coal trucks grinding along the new highways to eastern power stations. Few people seem to have cars; many ride e-bikes, and the many red taxis are e-bikes with cabs to seat four passengers. My base school here, at Qinyuan, is a boarding school for 4,000 students, mainly from coal-mining families. Their boarding and education is free, except for a small amount for food. The students seemed quite tired. They run every morning at 6.30, then have 8 classes through the day, and another three hours of silent, supervised study in the evenings. Even after 10pm, when students return to their dormitories, many continue studying. They say they must do this to reach the standards for the exams in the first week of June.
Their unheated classrooms seem small for 60 students, about the same size as the heated Principal’s office on the twelfth floor of the admin block. I gave my lecture on Saturday morning in a splendid auditorium seating a thousand teachers and leaders from around the district. I had my meals in the Principal’s canteen, and they were eager to tell me about the local food. I remember turtle (for winter health), noodles made from oat flour (very healthy and delicious), corn pancakes with local fungi (huge range), and lots of fruit juices; all very delicious and wholesome. At mealtimes, my interpreter and I were the only women among the school leaders and Ministry officials.
This was certainly an amazing couple of weeks in which I learned much more about life and education in some country areas in North China. I was enormously impressed with the desire to modernise education at the grassroots, and by the huge work commitment of teachers and students. Unfortunately, the entrenched examination system, based on repetition of factual material, continues to be a barrier to development of the thinking and learning skills required in the present world. But, like so much in modern China, wider changes could happen quickly as the ripples spread.
THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE: This is the Year of the Water Snake. The Snake is sometimes referred to as the Junior Dragon and there are few animals with more symbolic associations than the Snake as they are both feared and revered. Chinese mythology holds that a half-human, half-snake was the father of the Chinese emperors. They are associated with beauty and wisdom, esoteric knowledge, intelligence and spiritual discovery. A Snake in the house is considered to be a good omen as they will never let you starve.
Snake years are: 1905 1917 1929 1941 1953
1965 1977 1989 2001 2013
The person born in a Snake year is a “deep thinker”, the wisest and most enigmatic of all. Contemplative and private, Snake people are not outwardly emotional and enjoy their own company more than that of other people. They tend to be a “live and let live” type of person, have a good temper and a skill at communicating, but say little. They possess gracious morality and great wisdom. A Snake person is a thinker who also likes to live well. They love books, music, clothes, and fine food; but with all their fondness for the good things in life, their innate elegance gives them a dislike for frivolities and foolish talk.
They like interesting conversations, although if the conversation becomes repetitive their attention may soon wander. It is almost impossible to fix their attention for long talking about the weather. They prefer to focus on new, interesting and unusual ideas and intelligent discussion in general.
These people have a special feeling that enables them to judge situations correctly and so they are alert to new possibilities and when they have an idea of what to do and how to do it, they pursue it persistently and energetically. Although it is difficult for such people to take advice, they are patient with others when it comes to giving a helping hand, and their ability to look at a problem from a variety of angles is appreciated.
Water Snakes are influential and insightful. They are quite motivated and intellectual, very determined and resolute about success. They are affectionate with their families and friends, but do not show this side of their personality to colleagues or business partners. Snake people know how to wind down and relax when the opportunity arises and make protective and caring friends.
In love, the male Snake is romantic and charming. He possesses a sense of humour, while the female is usually beautiful and successful. Snake people will be jealous and possessive and rejection is the worst thing that can ever happen. Generally they need a lot of security. They aren’t flirts, but probably have more than a little capability when it comes to the art of seduction. They may use this power sparingly, but, when they do, it is almost always effective.
They are very conscientious and diligent at work and determined to accomplish their goals. Snakes have an ability to read complex situations quickly and then set about resolving them in a quiet, controlled manner. They are logical and organised workers and have all the qualities needed to acquire new skills. They also have a very good memory.
Although they look calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate. They understand themselves well and are people of great perception. They are usually financially secure and do not have to worry about money. They have tremendous sympathy for others and would like to help their fellow human beings.
But Snakes can become easily stressed and have to avoid hectic schedules or noisy atmospheres. They do not get a rush from adrenaline, rather a headache. They need calm and quiet to thrive and succeed. A Snake must have sleep and relaxation to live a long, healthy life.
Ideal snake jobs include: professor, linguist, teacher, psychiatrist, psychologist, personnel officer, public relations, interior designer, scientists, analyst, investigator, sociologist and painter.
Some famous Snakes include: Queen Elizabeth I, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Bob Dylan, Picasso, Greta Garbo, Art Garfunkel, Audrey Hepburn, Mao Zedong, Dean Martin, Brad Pitt, Brooke Shields, Royden Smith, Paul Simon, Dionne Warwick, Jacqueline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, and Virginia Woolf.
Negative: The Snake can also be self-righteous, imperious, judgemental, conniving, mendacious, crabby, clinging, pessimistic, fickle, haughty, ostentatious and a very sore loser.
Positive: The Snake can be amiable, compromising, fun-loving, altruistic, honorable, sympathetic, philosophical, charitable, a paragon of fashion, intuitive, discreet, diplomatic, amusing and sexy.
~ edited from various websites too numerous to mention, courtesy of Google…
CHINA’S SECOND ECONOMIC BOOM IS IN THE HINTERLAND – Chengdu, China
By the end of 2012, a fifth of all computers in the world will be manufactured in Chengdu, the ancient Sichuan capital of western China. The great leap forward has come with lightning speed, and spans the gamut of hi-tech industry. The 3 state-telecom giants – China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom – are spending $US4.7bn to create the world’s largest cloud-computing base at the city’s Tianfu software park.
Country cousins they are not in Chengdu. There is no reason why they should be. The city competes with Rome for primacy as the world’s oldest metropolis, and competes with Tuscany for food. Foreign critics have clung too long to the 1990s narrative of a booming Eastern seaboard some 300m people deep, backed by a vast hinterland of ignorance, poverty, and filth. It was never so, and is utterly wrong today. Chengdu has been an aerospace centre since the 1950s, strategically located in the Sichuan Basin behind a ring of escarpments. The 14m-strong city is now pole-vaulting up the technology ladder. Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) manufactures China’s stealth fighter, the J-20 Black Eagle. Washington and Moscow were stunned when it took to the skies in 2010. More prosaically, its aerospace industry builds nose cones for Airbus and the rudder for the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing’s passenger jet.
Chengdu’s hard-driving Mayor, Ge Honglin, has built a 3-D model of his city – the size of a tennis court – with an elaborate system of lights showing where the allocated clusters are being built. Precision machinery here, optical electronics there, automobiles off to one side, and on and on. A kilometre-wide green belt of lakes and parks will separate the “Garden City” from the smoke stacks, to be linked to the first car-free town of 30,000 families – designed as a pilot project for the nation.
Chengdu is actually realizing its seemingly quixotic mantra of becoming China’s Silicon Valley, fed by 51 universities, graduating 200,000 scientists and engineers each year. The US semi-conductor group, Intel, built its first plant here on empty fields nine years ago, lured inland by the Chinese Government’s ‘Go West’ incentives – intended to keep mutinous migrant workers safely anchored to their regions. The sweeteners include 15% corporation tax for a decade (instead of 25%), with no tax on the first two years of profits, and half tax on the next three years. Intel has since shifted the bulk of its operations from Shanghai and now produces half the global supply of laptop chips from its Chengdu operations.
The big names of the computer industry have followed in a sudden migration. Dell and China’s Lenovo came in 2011. Foxconn has cranked up operations from nothing to 80,000 workers in barely two years. Last month it built 80% of Apple’s worldwide output of iPads at eight cavernous galleys outside the city. This is why Chengdu has shrugged off this year’s hard-landing in coastal China. Growth has slipped slightly to 13% over the last nine months but is already picking up again.
Much the same story is unfolding in Chongqing on the Upper Yangtze – it grew 16.5% last year. It is the same too in Xi’an, and in a string of cities and regions across the interior. Inner Mongolia grew 15%, as did once sleepy Ghuizou – home to the lakes and gorges of Guilin. A few hundred kilometres away in Mao’s old haunt, this will soon be topped for sheer exuberance. The city of Changsha is about to erect the world’s highest building – Sky City – in 90 days flat. It will be finished in March. That is stimulus for you.
Chengdu is currently building more space than any city in China, and probably in the world, with 30 skyscrapers above 60 floors under way, and 90 big commercial complexes. The world’s largest building will open within a few weeks – a huge glass pagoda called the New Century Global Centre. A hinterland boom in regions containing 700m people or more is not to be sniffed at.
~ by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
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