School and kura travel between New Zealand and China.

Short, well-planned visits that give students and kaiako a real connection with a partner school or community. We plan with schools and whānau, and we keep safety and pastoral care at the centre.

Ask about school or kura travel

What this covers

New Zealand school and kura groups visiting partner schools and cities in China
Chinese school groups visiting New Zealand, through licensed partners where travel services are needed
Sister-school links that continue after the trip, with letters, video calls and return visits
Visits linked to your council’s sister-city relationship, or to an iwi partnership – see Iwi and Māori organisations

How we work

We help with matching, introductions, programme design and preparation. Bookings, travel and payments are handled by the school and licensed travel partners under written terms. We are an adviser and connector, not a tour company.

For longer exchanges and volunteering for school leavers and adults, see the China Volunteer Programme. For sister schools in general, see Education.

Before you decide

Agree the learning purpose first, then choose the destination and partner
Confirm supervision, pastoral care, insurance and consent for every student
Budget honestly, including preparation, travel, insurance and follow-up
Plan how the relationship continues after everyone comes home

Emergency contacts and participation handbooks

Everyone who joins an Eastern Bridge programme, including the China Volunteer Programme and a school or high school exchange, receives a participation handbook before they travel. The handbook sets out emergency contact details, and the processes and protocols to follow in situations that are unlikely but could happen.

Volunteers aged 18 and over receive these details themselves. We strongly advise sharing them with family, but as adults it is their choice whether to do so.

We also keep an emergency contact database for volunteers in China. It is based on the information each volunteer provides to us.

We do not publish a 24-hour emergency number on this website. Your handbook is the place to find the right contact for your programme. For school and kura groups, the handbook sits alongside the school’s own supervision, consent and pastoral care arrangements.

Thinking about a trip?

Talk to us early, before dates or budgets are fixed. We will help you test whether the idea is ready.