Kāpiti College's kapa haka group performed on the Great Wall of China. Video / Kāpiti College
Performing an awe-inspiring haka on the Great Wall was a key highlight of Kāpiti College’s kapa haka trip to China.
The 10-day Kia Āio Te Noho trip comprised 30 students, three teachers and six parents.
The idea came from the college’s international student director, Steve Burt, who spoke with the Pacific Education Alliance about how spectacular it would be to see the school haka performed on the wall.
It led to The China Bridge Programme, which funds students from around the world to have cultural experiences in China, facilitating the trip.
The China Bridge Programme and Beijing Bailie University (founded by the late New Zealand-born writer and activist Rewi Alley) created an itinerary that involved Chinese cultural and language lessons, historical sightseeing, homestays and lots more.
Students tuck into some Chinese kai at the Beijing Bailie University.
On a windy morning early in the trip, the group assembled on the wall in a place set aside for them because of the masses of people.
The wall was extra busy because the visit coincided with China’s Golden Week holiday.
Watched by a host of intrigued people, and with television cameras and smartphone videos rolling, the group performed two traditional haka and a waiata from the Taranaki area.
The members were more than ready as they had been performing their annual Parihaka production several times at the college before the trip.
“It was incredible,” college head of Māori Paora Trim said.
Afterwards, the group spent a few hours walking the wall and getting a physical workout courtesy of the countless steps which were steep in parts.
Students relax at the Beijing Bailie University.
The group performed either poi, haka or waiata at least twice a day at various locations throughout the trip, either impromptu or suggested by their hospitable guides.
One memorable performance was in a commercial area of Xi’an where a large crowd gathered and it was so popular that police were a bit worried about safety.
The group had a lot of other highlights ranging from homestays with Chinese families, travelling on a bullet train, wearing traditional costumes, partaking in a tea ceremony, going to the Rainbow Mountains, trying different food, buying snacks in supermarkets and speaking Māori in a country where Mandarin is the main language.
An excursion to the Rainbow Mountains got the thumbs up.
One thing they didn’t get to do was see the Terracotta Warriors because the public holiday made the site too busy with visitors.
For many, the trip was their first taste of international travel and sparked an interest in exploring other countries.
Trim was proud of the students and felt the trip had made a big impact on them.
“It was a life-changing experience without a shadow of a doubt.”
