CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- "Language is the door to the culture and everything else," New Zealand Labor MP Duncan Webb said. "If you don't know the language, the door is closed."
Webb, who has been interested in "Chinese traditions, its long history, and philosophy," recounted his brief experience in Hong Kong University in the 1990s to study Chinese law.
Chinese philosophy is "so rich, so deep and so old," Webb told Xinhua on Sunday at the event of New Zealand's Chinese Immersion Day, which echoed the Chinese Language Week that kicked off nationwide on Oct. 16.
Former New Zealand Ambassador to China Tony Browne agreed and said that he started to learn Chinese 45 years ago that opened up a career for him.
He lived and worked in a Chinese environment and spoke Chinese, drawing on expertise and knowledge from China for 26 years.
Browne, who served as ambassador to China between 2004 and 2009, is now chairman of New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre and executive board member of the New Zealand China Council.
He said that many Year-9 students, aged 14, in New Zealand starting to learn Chinese showed the government's recognition of importance of learning Chinese as a second language.
He recalled that only 2,000 students learned Chinese 17 years ago in New Zealand schools. Last year, in New Zealand primary schools, 52,669 students learned the language, and in secondary schools, the only language that showed increase in the number of learners was Chinese.
Steve Fraser, deputy headmaster of the Christchurch Boys' High School where Mandarin has been taught for more than two decades, said that importance of the Chinese language increases with the growth of Chinese community in New Zealand.
Feng Huili, who has been teaching Chinese in this school for almost 18 years said she has more than 110 students and 21 classes of Confucius Classroom to teach every week.
As the regional officer of the New Zealand Chinese Language Teachers' Association, one of the organizers of Sunday's events, Feng said that the aim of the Chinese Language Week and Chinese Immersion Day is to promote the language and culture in New Zealand mainstream society.
Sunday's event featured lion dance, drum dance, martial arts, Chinese folk dance, calligraphy, painting, paper cutting, dumpling making and shadow play among others, presented by Kiwi students from local schools. More than 500 people attended Sunday's event.
Sarah, 12, from the Springston School, told Xinhua that her learning of Chinese has been encouraged by her parents who are also learning the language now.
Chinese Consul General to Christchurch Wang Zhijian said at the event that he appreciated students' enthusiasm in learning Chinese, adding that New Zealanders who can speak fluent Chinese and have a deep understanding of Chinese culture will provide great opportunities for the bilateral relations of the two countries.
"Learn Chinese, then you will have friends all over the world," Wang said.
