Chinese artists brew tea in Rewi Alley's hometown to enhance cultural exchanges

People taste Chinese tea during the Tea and the World cultural event at Rewi Alley Chinese School in Christchurch, New Zealand's South Island, My 13, 2023. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, May 13 (Xinhua) -- A group of Chinese artists have staged a delicate tea culture display with the performance of Guqin and Dunhuang dance in the hometown of Rewi Alley, who opened the door for New Zealand-China friendly ties.

The event, dubbed Tea and the World, was held in a community library in Christchurch, New Zealand's South Island, on Friday and Rewi Alley Chinese School on Saturday, aiming to enhance cultural exchanges between the two countries.

About 100 spectators from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds observed the Chinese tea culture and art show on Friday, featuring Guqin, a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument, and Dunhuang dance, which draws inspiration from body movements on Dunhuang grotto frescoes found in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu province.

China is the hometown of tea and the birthplace of tea culture, Chinese Consul General in Christchurch He Ying told the audience on Friday.

Chinese tea culture has a long, extensive and profound history and it has become part of people's daily life as well as China's poetry, painting, calligraphy, religion, medicine and other aspects, she said, adding that tea can cultivate one's moral values and good sentiments. Tea drinking is also an elegant entertainment and social activity in China.

Tea has built an important bridge for people-to-people exchanges around the world. Chinese tea has always been an important commodity along the ancient Silk Road, especially the Maritime Silk Road, she said.

It was said that Alley, a New Zealand-born writer, social reformer and educator who had spent 60 years living and working in China before he died in 1987 in Beijing, was also a tea lover.

Matt Mckenna, a fan of Chinese culture, told Xinhua after watching the display, "We've got a great insight and demonstration of the rich cultural heritage of the tea ceremony, which has so many important aspects relating to the Chinese tradition of sharing, friendship, peace, harmony, meditation and being one with nature."

"It is amazing how nature and the tea ceremony become one with so many kinds of tea and so many health benefits," Mckenna said, adding it reminds people to be more mindful, kind and patient with each other and "how sitting down with friends having a simple cup of tea can enrich our world and our lives, and bring us closer to nature."

Christchurch City Councilor Victoria Henstock and her husband Michael Henstock both love tea and drink tea every day.

Victoria Henstock said next year will be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of sister-city relations between China's Gansu province and New Zealand's Christchurch.

"Very delicate and beautiful," Michael Henstock said about the tea ceremony, adding it was the first time he had witnessed such a beautiful rendition of Chinese culture, and the experience gave him a better understanding of China.

People taste Chinese tea during the Tea and the World cultural event at Rewi Alley Chinese School in Christchurch, New Zealand's South Island, May 13, 2023. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

Christchurch City Councilor Victoria Henstock (L) tastes Chinese tea during the Tea and the World cultural event at a community library in Christchurch, New Zealand's South Island, May 12, 2023. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

People taste Chinese tea during the Tea and the World cultural event at a community library in Christchurch, New Zealand's South Island, May 12, 2023. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)