Sister cities at 40,always young at heart

He Xin

O n March 4， 2021， Rebekah Mawson， New Zealands consul general in Guangzhou， departed by train for Guilin， Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region， at 11：27 am and returned to Guangzhou at 5：16 pm. What prompted her to make such a round trip in a single working day， despite the fatigue？

She made the trip to see， in person， the 40th anniversary photo exhibition of friendship city relations of Guilin and Hastings， New Zealand， at the Guilin Museum.

Mawson told Shen Weihu， the vice-mayor and a member of the Standing Committee of the CPCs Guilin Municipal Committee， who greeted her， that Guilin and Hastings was the first pair of sister cities between China and New Zealand， and “it means a lot”as the two cities celebrated the anniversary of friendship. Over the years， the two cities have carried out a variety of activities in many areas， and the relationship has always been active and fruitful， setting a good example for other sister cities in both countries.

Lets flash back to the same day in 1981， when the mayor of Guilin at the time， Liang Shan， led a delegation to Hastings and signed the Sister City Protocol with the mayor of Hastings， Jim OConnor， formalizing the friendly relationship that straddles the Pacific Ocean and the northern and southern hemispheres. Today， the original copy of the protocol is on display in the permanent exhibition —titled “Friendship of Guilin” —at the museum.

The friendship between Guilin and Hastings originated with the seemingly insignificant kiwi fruit. In the late 1970s， Don McKenzie， a horticultural scientist working for the New Zealand Ministry of Science and Industrial Research in Hastings， started business exchanges with the Guangxi Institute of Botany in Guilin with the kiwi. He was the first to propose a sister city relationship between Hastings and Guilin.

The seeds of friendship， once sown， grew strong and blossomed. Exchanges between the two sides have expanded from horticulture to trade， tourism， culture， education， youth and other fields. The friendship between the two cities has not diminished with the passage of time but rather has grown stronger.

Strong leadership， clear vision

Since the twinning， Guilin has seen a succession of 14 mayors； Hastings has had four. But the original passion in the relationship has shown no sign of waning. Leaders of Guilin have always attached great importance to the sister city relationship， holding regular meetings with their Hastings counterparts to lay out strategic plans and pinpoint areas of exchange and cooperation.74E84B52-77D2-44D7-A66C-1BCDE3321CD9

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary， Mayor Qin Chuncheng of Guilin and Mayor Sandra Hazelhurst of Hastings signed a memorandum celebrating the Sister City Protocol and reaffirming their common aspiration to further develop the relationship and enhance friendship between the two cities and their residents.

The three previous mayors of Hastings — Jim OConnor， Jeremy Dwyer and Lawrence Yule — all served for more than a decade. Their friendly stance toward China has been passed on from one generation to the next and has become the overall consensus of the Hastings District Council. Dwyer visited Guilin nine times during his tenure of office， and Yule visited eight times in his 16 years as mayor. All the mayors of Hastings， past and present， have spared no effort in personally encouraging wide participation of all sectors of society in the relationship， and helping to nurture a favorable atmosphere of public opinion.

Thanks to the leadership and promotion by the leaders of the two cities， the friendship city relationship has come a long way since the 1980s， with confidence and determination and steps firm and steady.

Channels of communication

A well-established working mechanism is essential for a healthy relationship， and the Guilin Foreign Affairs Office has a dedicated section responsible for the work of friendship cities. A staff member is assigned to engage with Hastings. The person in charge is familiar with Hastings and has a wide range of contacts in the area. Communication has progressed from telephone and fax in the early days to email and WeChat today. Both sides are online virtually 24 hours a day and can communicate whenever needed.

Although the Hastings District Council does not have a department for foreign affairs， staff members are always available to connect with Guilin. The mechanism has gone through constant adjustment and optimization， with responsibility passing from public services and economic divisions to the offices of the CEO and mayor. Nowadays， a councilor is directly responsible for international sister city relations， so that communication is efficient and effective.

In addition to government departments， the Guilin Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries maintains working contacts with non-governmental friendship organizations in Hastings， so sister city relations involve both public and private players and have joined forces for development.74E84B52-77D2-44D7-A66C-1BCDE3321CD9

Deep roots among the people

Affinity between peoples is the key to state-to-state relations， while mutual understanding is the key to people-to-people relations. The relationship between cities is， ultimately， a relationship between people. The most important thing in dealing with friendship city relations is to focus on people-to-people relations.

Hospitality is deeply rooted in the blood of Chinese people， who are warm， friendly， thoughtful and considerate. For visiting official delegations from Hastings， everything is meticulously planned to offer a high level of courtesy and hospitality in both official activities and accommodations. Some were so impressed with what they had experienced in Guilin that they remarked， “Weve been treated like royalty.”

Guilin pays equal attention to various other visitors from Hastings. For example， tourists and students find a warm welcome in Guilin. It also keeps in mind some major figures of Hastings， especially those contributing to the relationship between the two cities. After the death of McKenzie， his widow and children were invited to Guilin to personally experience his commitment to friendship. Guilin awarded Dwyer， the former mayor of Hastings， an honorary citizenship for his lifelong dedication to Guilin-Hastings exchanges. When Guilin delegations visit Hastings， they often visit the families of these old friends and attend events to commemorate them.

Guilin visitors to Hastings， be they civil servants， entrepreneurs， technicians， artists， teachers or students， all work in their own way to promote Guilin and sister city friendship. In the meantime， they feel firsthand the sincerity and friendship of the Hastings people. Visits and activities of all kinds have brought the citizens of the two cities much closer， and many have become friends. The public support for sister city ties grows increasingly stronger.

Interests and signature programs

Over the decades， Guilin and Hastings have explored many areas of exchange， with meaningful results. Some take place in a two-way and reciprocal manner， others run on a yearly or regular basis. These area-specific exchanges， so successful and popular， have become evergreen trees in the sister city relationship.

1. Education

Education has always been a hot area of exchange between the two sides. As there are no education authorities in Hastings， a Hastings education link group was created within the sister city framework to coordinate exchanges with Guilin at all levels of educational institutions.74E84B52-77D2-44D7-A66C-1BCDE3321CD9

So far， the two cities have organized 11 education study tours involving 68 visitors. Educators spend time at each others universities， primary schools， secondary schools and kindergartens， observing， interacting and discussing. They benefit from new ideas and enhanced understanding.

In addition， Hastings teachers take teaching positions at Guilin universities and secondary schools， and students come to Guilin for short-term study. Guilin sends students to Hastings and places them in secondary schools. Exchanges of visits between secondary schools occur on a regular basis. Six pairs of sister schools partner up for year-round interaction and exchanges.

2. Culture

Guilin and Hastings have different cultural backgrounds， not only of East and West but with their own regional and ethnic characteristics. Cultural events relate directly to the general public and have always been highlights in sister-city activities. The two cities have organized 15 cultural visits involving 257 participants and covering a wide spectrum of music， dance， acrobatics， photography and television.

Some of the most talked about include the outbound Guilin acrobatic group， childrens art groups， folk music groups and the inbound Hastings Citizens Band， Hawkes Bay Orchestra Society and Maori cultural groups. These groups bring something exotic and foreign and easily become hot topics among members of the public， even a sensation.

In addition to visits， games and competitions are good ways to discover other cultures. Hastings has organized four Ultimate Challenge events in which students are asked to find out a Guilin individuals identity in a cyber manhunt. Their only clue is a photo of the person. The process itself is a great way to learn about China， and the public appearance of the mystery figure creates excitement.

3. Youth and citizens

Guilin and Hastings make good use of art in promoting exchanges be-tween young people. The Guilin Little Osmanthus Art Troupe children made school visits during the day and enjoyed homestays with local residents at night. They go for activities with their New Zealand buddies， gaining both knowledge and friendship.

The Hastings youth music exchange groups， not only visit and perform at various schools in Guilin but also get to try their hand at Chinese calligraphy， opera and table tennis. They share cheers and laughter with Guilin students.

People from Hastings regularly organize tours to Guilin， with the group size ranging from a dozen to more than 30. In addition to what other tourists do， they also visit factories and rural areas to gain insights into the development of China and Guilin. Derek Brownrigg， former member of the Hastings District Council， has led seven groups to Guilin， doing his part to enhance New Zealand peoples understanding of China and Guilin and develop friendship between the two sides.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic， some of the activities marking the 40th sister city anniversary had to be scaled down or rescheduled， but the aspiration of Guilin and Hastings to develop the relationship has not been diminished in the slightest.

As Confucius said， “At 40 I had no more doubts.” Guilin and Hastings are also mature and confident. When the pandemic ends， the two cities look forward to packing up for their continued journey and adding a new chapter to their friendship.74E84B52-77D2-44D7-A66C-1BCDE3321CD9