The first “Chinese Cultural Immersion Summer Camp” for high school Students from New Zealand, which had lasted for 14 days, draws to a successful conclusion at Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST).

The camp was co-organized by CIUC and HUST. Participants were mainly from Christchurch Boy's High School and Lincoln High School, New Zealand. The major activities were divided into three categories: “visiting, practicing and experiencing”. “Visiting”— sightseeing some historical and modern scenic spots, such as Hubei Provincial Museum, the Yellow Crane Tower and the Three Gorges Dam; “Practicing”— tasting some traditional Chinese cultural practice, such as “calligraphy”, “painting”, “paper cutting”, “Tai chi”, “dumpling making” etc; “Experiencing”— experiencing the local people’s life, especially Chinese high school students life, and building a communication bridge in between.

During the fourteen days of camping, participants did learn quite a lot about Chinese culture. Not only did they have the personal on-scene experience of some historical scenic spots, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Yellow Crane Tower, Guiyuan Temple and Baidi City, they also witnessed the marvels of modern science and technology, such as the Bird's Nest, Water Cube, the Optical Valley and the Three Gorges Dam. Those, who could only utter a few simple Chinese expressions like "Hello", "Thank you" and "Goodbye" before they came to China, were able to bargain with peddlers; those, who had only heard of Beijing roasted duck, now could use chopsticks to help themselves to Wuhan hot-&-dry noodles; those, who had only seen Chinese martial arts, opera and calligraphy on screen or pictures, now they could perform the basic forms of Tai Chi, draw the facial makeup in Beijing Opera, and write Chinese characters with a brush. All these changes illuminate the successfulness of this cultural immersion camp.

Also during the fourteen days of camping, the campers felt the warmth and friendship of the Chinese people wherever they went. They made friends with their Chinese peers and the understanding between NZ and Chinese students was greatly enhanced in the engagement of the camping activities. On departure, the campers were reluctant to say goodbye. They expressed their genuine gratitude towards the Chinese volunteers: "We sincerely welcome you to New Zealand. Our friendship will last as long as the Great Wall. We will always be friends! I will tell my Kiwi friends that Chinese people are very friendly. "