Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, and is the most populous city in central China. It is located where three cities, Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang, which are located where the Han and Xunshi rivers join the Yangtze (Chan Jiang).
On 4 April 2006 a Friendship City Agreement was signed between the Mayors of Wuhan, China and Christchurch, New Zealand formalising the relationship which started in 1999, when the two cities began building the foundations to establish a long-term strategic partnership.
The Wuhan and Christchurch relationship started in 1998, when Mr Yin Zengtao, the then Deputy Mayor of Wuhan, visited Christchurch for the first official visit from Wuhan. A reciprocal visit in January 1999 was undertaken by Mayor Garry Moore following his 1998 election to the Mayoralty of Christchurch.
Since Deputy Mayor Yin and Mayor Garry Moore's initial meetings, there have been many valuable contributions to the flourishing relationship between Christchurch and Wuhan. In late 2003, a group of 23 young officials from Wuhan Municipal Government came to Christchurch to attend a University of Canterbury 5-month training programme. Four of the trainees undertook a project that mapped the possible areas of cooperation between the two cities. The project, supervised by Larry Podmore, Science & Technology Manager for the Canterbury Development Corporation, became a strategy framework for economic cooperation between Christchurch and Wuhan.
Quality training provision has been provided by Continuing Education - University of Canterbury, and the former Christchurch College of Education to a number of groups of Wuhan officials, secondary school principals and lead teachers, with the assistance from the Christchurch-based IETCL. The training sessions have further strengthened the links between the two cities, and members of the alumni have become devoted friends to Christchurch and New Zealand. The NZ Hubei Association has received and supported many delegations to Christchurch from Wuhan and has facilitated several cultural exchanges between the two cities.
In June 2004, Mayor Garry Moore led a second delegation to Wuhan. This significant visit led to the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between Christchurch and Wuhan City. The delegation, comprising 50 people was the largest formal city to city delegation ever in the history of Christchurch to travel overseas. The delegation included representatives from both public and private sector. The visit was a learning and fact finding journey and the delegates were deeply impressed with the enormous opportunities for economic cooperation between the two cities.
From the start of 2005, the Canterbury Development Corporation was officially entrusted with the task of managing the relationship between the two cities. Priority was given to Science and Technology, in view of Christchurch’s good reputation for innovation, and the link with the prestigious university cluster in Wuhan meant that development could begin in earnest. Across the year there was substantial growth in research linkage between the institutions in Wuhan and Christchurch. In addition several sister college and university linkages have enabled the development of joint research initiatives, and research collaboration has added a valuable dimension to increasing cultural exchange and education cooperation in between the two cities.
The Christchurch-Wuhan Strategic Relationship website outlines the history and current state of this relationship, including details of current joint projects and the successes to date.
| ni hao | hello |
| zao | good morning |
| wan an | good evening |
| zai jian | goodbye |
| wo jiao | my name is |
| xie xie | thank you |