An official delegation including Prime Minister and Minister of
Tourism John Key today bid farewell to a piece of Māori art that
will take centre stage at this year's Shanghai World Expo.
The 10 metre-high, 3 metre-wide kauri waharoa (gateway) in the
shape of a waka maumahara (ceremonial canoe) will be shipped to
Shanghai next week, where carving will be completed on the
forecourt of New Zealand's national pavilion at the Expo.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the
waharoa will give visitors to the pavilion a chance to experience
part of New Zealand's culture first hand.
"With 70 million people expected to pass through the expo over
six months, this is an opportunity to get New Zealand in front of a
mass of Chinese consumers.
"The waharoa will be left behind as a legacy of the relationship
between the two nations, and help attract attention to New
Zealand's unique culture and what we offer as a destination," he
says.
Prime Minister John Key, along with the Chinese Ambassador,
today helped carve a small section of the waharoa as part of a
poroporoaki, or farewell.
The project, which has been led by Te Puia with assistance from
Tourism New Zealand, will be completed on-site at the New Zealand
pavilion. Nine Te Puia carvers, including Head of Te Puia's carving
school James Rickard, will spend two months in Shanghai completing
the waharoa.
Named Te Kakano (The Seed), it will then be gifted to the people
of China as a symbol of the relationship between the two
countries.
Kevin Bowler says the project will also be an opportunity to
gain media coverage for New Zealand around the Shanghai Expo and
extend the reach of other 100% Pure New Zealand marketing
activity.
"China is an important tourism market for New Zealand with
strong growth potential. We have been in this market running
campaign activity for the past two years, but awareness of New
Zealand is still low," he says.
"This project, and other work planned around the Expo, will give
New Zealand a way to grab attention during this huge event."
The Shanghai Expo will be open between 1 May and 21 October
2010. Around 400,000 visitors are expected to pass through each
day.
The New Zealand Expo Pavilion, which has been developed and
managed by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, will take visitors
through a 'day in the life of a New Zealand city'. It will
highlight our sustainable urban environments and the closeness
between our cities and nature.
Find out
more about Te Kakano on Te Puia's website
Read more about China
in the market guide
The Chinese Ambassador Zhang
Limin makes his mark on the waharoa, which is bound for Shanghai's
upcoming World Expo. (Photos courtesy of the New
Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Te Puia)