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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
Home › News, Case Studies & Insights
Case Studies Case Study
8 case studies
Baxi Ice Cream Factory Hauraki — Eastern Bridge facilitated Chinese FDI into the Hauraki District
Featured Foreign Direct Investment · Local Government
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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Chinese students on a study holiday in New Zealand — Eastern Bridge study tour programme
Case Study Education · Tourism
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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Chinese visitors at Kutarere Marae — Eastern Bridge authentic cultural tour programme
Case Study Cultural Tourism · Māori
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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New Zealand premium wine presented to Chinese buyers — cultural intelligence in export sales
Case Study Export · Trade
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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Simon Appleton live streaming from Hawke's Bay to 150,000 Chinese social media followers
Case Study Digital · Social Media
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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Eastern Bridge supporting Stats NZ to engage migrant communities in the New Zealand Census
Case Study Government · Community
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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Māori volunteers studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and sharing Rongoā Māori in China
Case Study Health · Cultural Exchange
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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New Zealand volunteers in Nanchang, Jiangxi — the Eastern Bridge volunteer programme
Case Study Volunteering · Education
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 Sister Cities Directory — Eastern Bridge interactive partnership map
Featured 11 March 2026
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 — Eastern Bridge research into migrant experiences in New Zealand
Insight 1 January 2025
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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Sister city relationships — New Zealand's experience in community-level international diplomacy
Insight 1 March 2026
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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Chinese students practising English with a New Zealand exchange student — education partnerships
Insight 1 March 2026
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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Chinese language class in Napier — Eastern Bridge Education Mandarin programme
Insight 1 March 2026
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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Chinese and Māori people together at a marae — Iwi partnerships in China
Insight 1 March 2026
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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Chinese high school students in New Zealand — sister school relationships and educational exchange
Insight March 2026
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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Migrants working in New Zealand — role of migrants in strengthening New Zealand communities
Insight 1 March 2026
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
New Zealand volunteers departing for China — Eastern Bridge 2026 volunteer cohort
News10 March 2026
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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Nanchang cityscape — Eastern Bridge trade delegation to Jiangxi Province 2026
News11 March 2026
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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Chinese language class at Eastern Bridge Education Napier campus
News1 March 2025
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 in Wellington — Eastern Bridge as LGNZ preferred partner
News5 December 2017
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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Jiangxi with love — COVID-19 solidarity message from Jiangxi Province to the Eastern Bay of Plenty
News16 November 2020
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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Simon Appleton with Bay of Plenty mayors and embassy staff in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province
News28 June 2019
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 Bridge assists Eastern Bay of Plenty to establish links with Jiangxi Province
News14 December 2018
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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LGNZ delegation at the first NZ-China Mayoral Forum in Xiamen, 2015
News20 September 2015
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 ↗
Claudette in Jingdezhen — life in the capital of ceramics, Jiangxi Province
Hongi10 January 2026
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
Hongi volunteers experiencing Traditional Chinese Medicine — Rongoā Māori meets TCM
Hongi9 January 2026
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
Hastings volunteers welcomed in Mianyang, Sichuan — a new chapter in the HONGI programme
Hongi9 January 2026
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 Province
Hongi9 January 2026
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
Tamati's journey from Kawerau to China — finding confidence through cultural exchange
Hongi9 January 2026
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 about energy and community resilience
Hongi9 January 2026
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
Fairy Lake in Xinyu, Jiangxi — nature, myth, and discovery
Hongi8 January 2026
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
Hongi8 January 2026
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
Hongi8 January 2026
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
Hongi volunteers running in the Xinyu Marathon — volunteering, community, and sport in China
Hongi8 January 2026
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 — Jiangxi Province wetlands and natural landscapes
Hongi8 January 2026
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
Sammy teaching netball to students in Jiangxi Province, China
Hongi8 January 2026
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
Isla sharing Māori culture with students in China — cultural exchange through identity
Hongi8 January 2026
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

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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.