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Eastern Bridge
News, Case Studies & Insights
Research, stories, and analysis from Eastern Bridge — covering community-level international engagement, cultural exchange, and New Zealand's relationships with Asia.
8
Case Studies
8
Insights
8
News Articles
17
Volunteer Stories
Case Studies Case Study
8 case studies
Facilitating a $30 Million Chinese Investment: The Allied Faxi (Baxi) Ice Cream Factory in Hauraki District
How Eastern Bridge bridged culture, language, and commerce to transform a dormant dairy site into a thriving export food manufacturing facility — generating over $5.85 million in annual regional economic impact and revitalising a community.
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Study Holiday Programmes as a Tool for Regional Economic Development
How Eastern Bridge designed and delivered a pilot study holiday programme in the Eastern Bay of Plenty — generating over $400,000 in regional economic impact.
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Authentic Cultural Tour Programme
Eastern Bridge partnered with Kutarere Marae and Te Ūpokorehe hapū to co-design a seven-day cultural tourism programme welcoming Chinese visitors as guests, not spectators.
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Selling Premium Wine in China
Successfully selling wine in international markets requires more than a quality product — it demands genuine respect for local culture and a deep understanding of how people build trust and do business.
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Hawke's Bay to 150,000 Chinese Fans
How Eastern Bridge helped a regional New Zealand business build a 150,000-strong Chinese social media audience through live-streaming, Douyin content, and influencer marketing.
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Making the Invisible Visible: Engaging Migrant Communities in the New Zealand Census
How Eastern Bridge helped Statistics New Zealand close the census participation gap — ensuring migrant communities across Hawke's Bay were counted, represented, and served.
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Rongōa Māori Meets Traditional Chinese Medicine
How Eastern Bridge facilitated a transformative three-month cultural exchange, placing Māori healing traditions in respectful dialogue with Traditional Chinese Medicine.
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The Jiangxi–New Zealand Volunteer Programme
A three-month fully funded cultural exchange placing young New Zealanders in partner schools across Jiangxi Province to build intercultural capability and people-to-people connections.
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Insights Insight
8 insights
New Zealand's Sister Cities Directory
An interactive directory of all 98 formal sister city and sister province relationships across 35 New Zealand cities — with economic, education, and cultural data for each partnership.
Explore the Directory
Migrant Perceptions Survey 2025: Insights into Migrant Experiences in New Zealand
With 18,000 respondents across 20 regions, the 2025 Migrant Perceptions Survey is the largest iteration to date — revealing growing economic pressures, declining healthcare satisfaction, and rising mental health concerns.
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The Importance of Sister City Relationships: The New Zealand Experience
With 53 councils maintaining 154 international relationships across 20+ countries, New Zealand's sister city network is one of the most active in the Asia-Pacific region — yet many partnerships remain underutilised.
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New Zealand – China Education Partnerships
Education has always been one of the most important dimensions of New Zealand's relationship with China. This article examines the current state of NZ–China education partnerships and emerging trends.
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Why Studying Chinese Matters
China is New Zealand's largest trading partner. Yet Mandarin remains one of the least-studied languages in the country. Here is why that needs to change — and what Eastern Bridge Education is doing about it.
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Why Iwi Should Build Their Own Partnerships in China
One of the biggest misconceptions in Aotearoa is that Māori international activity is somehow novel. Iwi partnerships with communities in China create opportunities that go far beyond what central government can deliver.
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Sister School Relationships: Educational Exchange and Economic Opportunity for NZ Communities
Sister school partnerships are far more than symbolic gestures of international goodwill. When properly developed, they generate measurable economic returns for schools and communities.
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Role of Migrants in Strengthening New Zealand Communities
Evidence consistently shows that migrants are economically productive, socially engaged, and law-abiding members of society — yet they are too often the subject of negative public narratives.
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News News
8 news articles
First 2026 Volunteer Cohort Set to Depart for China as Programme Expands
The Eastern Bridge volunteer programme has expanded significantly since its inception in 2024, with 130 fully-funded positions available for New Zealanders in 2026. The first cohort departs in March and April.
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Bay of Plenty and South Waikato Businesses Invited to Join Trade Delegation to Jiangxi, China
Eastern Bridge is coordinating a business delegation to Jiangxi Province, China, in September 2026. Businesses from the Bay of Plenty and South Waikato are invited to express early interest.
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Eastern Bridge Education Launches Free Chinese Language Classes Across Hawke's Bay and Eastern Bay of Plenty
Open to everyone, with no eligibility criteria and no cost — Eastern Bridge Education's new Mandarin programme brings Chinese language, culture, and history to communities across the region.
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Second NZ-China Mayoral Forum Deepens Local Government Ties in Wellington
Building on the success of the inaugural 2015 event, the second New Zealand-China Mayoral Forum was held in Wellington in December 2017. Eastern Bridge played an expanded role as LGNZ's preferred partner.
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Screens, Wetlands, and Masks: How the Eastern Bay–Jiangxi Relationship Endured COVID-19
When COVID-19 closed international borders, the Eastern Bay–Jiangxi sister province relationship adapted rather than stalled — through online school exchanges, ecology programmes, and a PPE gift shipment from Jiangxi.
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Eastern Bay Delegation Formalises Historic Sister Province Ties with Jiangxi
A 19-person delegation from the Eastern Bay of Plenty travelled to Nanchang in June 2019, signing landmark friendship agreements with Jiangxi Province and returning home with a $500,000 scholarship fund.
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Eastern Bay Councils Back Jiangxi Sister Province Plan
In December 2018, Eastern Bridge presented a strategic framework to the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee for a sister province relationship with Jiangxi, China — winning unanimous support from all three mayors.
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Inaugural NZ-China Mayoral Forum Held in Xiamen, Strengthening Local Ties
The first-ever New Zealand-China Mayoral Forum took place in Xiamen in September 2015, with 75 delegates including 12 mayors signing the Xiamen Declaration. Eastern Bridge provided strategic support and interpreting services.
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Volunteer Stories
Hongi
17 stories
hongi.co.nz ↗
Eastern Bridge Education Launches Free Chinese Language Classes
Open to everyone — no eligibility criteria, no cost. Evening classes in Hastings, Napier, Whakatāne, and Ōpōtiki.
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Trade Mission to Jiangxi 2026 — Call for Interest
Businesses from the Bay of Plenty and South Waikato are invited to express early interest in the September 2026 business delegation to Jiangxi Province.
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HONGI Expands Volunteer Programme Across New Regions in 2026
Following strong success in Jiangxi and Sichuan, HONGI announces a significant expansion — volunteers will live and work in seven distinct locations across China in 2026.
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Claudette's Life in the "Capital of Ceramics"
For Claudette, volunteering in Jingdezhen was an opportunity to step into a world shaped by creativity, history, and cultural exchange.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Rongoā Māori Meet TCM
Several Hongi volunteers were hosted at institutions specialising in Traditional Chinese Medicine, opening the door to deeper conversations about health and traditional knowledge systems.
Read on hongi.co.nz
A New Chapter in Sichuan: Hastings Volunteers Welcomed in Mianyang
For the Hastings volunteers travelling to Sichuan, the start of their placement represented an important milestone in the growth of the Hongi Volunteer Programme.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Walking in the Footsteps of Rewi Alley: A New Zealand Story in Gansu
Volunteers in Gansu Province discover the legacy of Rewi Alley — one of New Zealand's most remarkable figures and a pioneer of people-to-people connections between the two countries.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Finding Confidence Through Culture: Tamati's Journey from Kawerau to China
Tamati left Kawerau with little idea of what to expect. He returned with a new language, a new network, and a new sense of what he was capable of.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Seeing Sustainability in Action: What Volunteering in Jiangxi Taught Us
For many Hongi volunteers, time spent in China becomes an unexpected education in how communities can think differently about energy, sustainability, and resilience.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Exploring Fairy Lake: Nature, Myth, and Discovery in Xinyu
One of the unexpected highlights for many Hongi volunteers is the opportunity to explore China beyond the classroom — and Fairy Lake in Xinyu is one of the most memorable destinations.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Sharing Mana Through Movement: Kapa Haka and Cultural Exchange in China
For many Hongi volunteers, one of the most powerful ways to connect with students in China is through movement and performance — and kapa haka has become a bridge between cultures.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Five Hours to Learn an Ancient Ritual: Cultural Exchange Through Nuo Dance in Jiangxi
Cultural exchange often happens in unexpected places. For New Zealand volunteers in Jiangxi, an afternoon learning the ancient Nuo Dance became one of the most memorable moments of their placement.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Running Beyond Expectations: Volunteering, Community, and the Xinyu Marathon
What many don't expect about volunteering in China is how deeply the experience extends into everyday community life — including sport, health, and outdoor challenges like the Xinyu Marathon.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Discovering China's Natural Side: Why Volunteering Doesn't Mean Living in a Polluted Megacity
For many New Zealanders, the idea of spending time in China comes with a familiar concern: crowded cities and endless concrete. Hongi volunteers discover a very different reality.
Read on hongi.co.nz
How Sammy Brought Netball to Her School in China
For Sammy, volunteering in China became an opportunity to connect with her host school in a way that went beyond language and the classroom — through the universal language of sport.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Sharing Māori Culture and Discovering China Through Exchange
For Isla, volunteering in China became a deeply personal journey of cultural discovery — recognising familiar values and practices that echoed her own Māori heritage.
Read on hongi.co.nz
Have a Story to Share?
If you have worked with Eastern Bridge or participated in one of our programmes, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch to discuss how your experience can be featured.