The annual Lighting of the Osmanthus Gardens in Cornwall Park has been moved to April 12 to 18. Photo / Supplied
The annual Lighting of the Osmanthus Gardens in Cornwall Park has been moved to April 12 to 18. Photo / Supplied
A showstopping array of Chinese music, dance and cultural performances will be at the heart of Hastings' 40th anniversary celebrations of its sister city relationship with Guilin.
Despite the postponement of a number of events due to Auckland's alert level changes, the performances, originally due to be held in March, have been spread across the year.
The focal point of the celebrations will be the 50-person performance "Sister Cities Alive" show at Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre which will now be held in the week leading up to the Blossom Festival – usually held in September.
The live performance will tell the story of Guilin and Hastings' 40-year journey.
Hastings District Council said specific dates and times of the show, along with a community event and celebration dinner, are not yet known.
The annual Lighting of the Osmanthus Gardens in Cornwall Park has also been moved to April 12 to 18.
Event organiser and Hastings councillor Kevin Watkins said by spreading the events across 2021, it reduces the risk of Covid alert level changes impacting all of the events at once.
The original timings of the events were aligned with the signing of the Sister City agreement on March 4, 1981, following a suggestion from Hastings horticultural scientist Dr Don McKenzie.
St Joseph's Māori Girls' College students perform at the 30th anniversary of Sister City agreement. Photo / Paul Taylor
While Guilin is five times the area of Hastings and has a population of 4.7 million, the districts do have similarities including fertile growing areas with an average temperature of 19 degrees and a focus on processing local produce (including wine), and growing tourism.
Watkins said the relationship has been remarkably successful over the years.
"It has helped us to understand each other and, particularly for our business people, enabled an understanding of China's culture that has enabled them to spread their trading wings over much broader areas of China," he said.
"As Chinese visitors to our shores have become more independent travellers, it has certainly increased the number of tourists getting off the well-worn Auckland-Rotorua-Queenstown track to come and visit our beautiful part of New Zealand."
The relationship was the first Sister City partnership signed between cities in New Zealand and China.
Since the agreement was signed, there have been regular "goodwill" visits between the two cities by business, local government and education leaders, skills exchanges, educational visits, exhibitions in both cities and increasing commercial and trade contacts.
Guilin has about 64,000 hectares of cultivated land, with the major crops including rice, bamboo, sugar cane, oranges, water-chestnuts, tangerines and pears, with forestry, fishing and animal husbandry also contributing to the economy.
Industry includes the manufacture of electronic goods, vehicle tyres, machinery and tools, luxury buses, local crafts and embroidery and food.
There are 725 educational institutes, including 15 universities and colleges, 20 specialist secondary schools and 500 high schools.
