This photo taken on May 25, 2024 shows a view of the Rewi Alley Memorial Park in the small town of Springfield in Canterbury, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
By Li Huizi
WELLINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The spirit of Rewi Alley has been once again rekindled in Christchurch, Canterbury where the New Zealand-born writer, social reformer and educator spent his childhood, by a giant statue displayed in the central city.
The statue of Rewi Alley contemplating and staring into the distance has been displayed at the entrance of the Christchurch Arts Center in central Christchurch, the largest city in New Zealand's South Island.
The location of Christchurch Arts Center was once a school attended by young Alley, said Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger.
The statue displayed here will help people better remember Alley as a great son of Canterbury and a bridge of friendship between New Zealand and China, Mauger said, adding the statue inspires the people of both countries to inherit the invaluable legacy of bilateral friendship that Alley left behind.
The statue of Rewi Alley was donated to the Christchurch City Council by the China Foundation for Peace and Development, and was created by a Chinese art team led by renowned Chinese painter and sculptor Yuan Xikun.
"Alley's deeds and spirit still inspire us today," Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told the statue's unveiling ceremony held on Friday in Christchurch.
The extensive cooperation and deep friendship between Christchurch and many provinces and cities in China are not only a reflection of the Alley spirit, but also an epitome of the long history of China-New Zealand friendship, Liu said.
An old friend of the Chinese people, Alley spent 60 years living and working in China. He made important contributions to the Chinese people's fight against the fascist invasion, the economic development of the new China, and the friendship between China and New Zealand.
Liu said in 1927, Alley, a young man from Canterbury, set foot on the Chinese soil for the first time, and since then he has been working and living in China for 60 years, and has made remarkable contributions to the cause of China's revolution and construction, as well as to the friendship between China and New Zealand through thick and thin.
He said through the Alley statue, more people in the two countries, especially young people, will understand and practice the Alley spirit, actively promote China-New Zealand friendship, push the bilateral relations to a new level, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make a positive contribution to peace, stability and prosperity of the world and the region.
Michelle MacWilliam, chair of the Christchurch China Sister Cities Committee, told Xinhua the location of the newly donated statue recognized Canterbury as the origin of Alley, and the sister city ties between China's Gansu Province and New Zealand's Christchurch, among other sister city relationships between the two countries.
The Christchurch-Gansu link, which was established in 1984, was initiated by Alley, who spent 10 years in Gansu's Shandan County. Alley had said the landscape there resembled his hometown, the small town of Springfield in Canterbury, New Zealand's South Island.
MacWilliam said descendants of Alley's adopted children, who were present at the statue's unveiling ceremony in Christchurch, were passionate about protecting and promoting Alley's spiritual legacy.
The statue will serve more as an educational tool for children, and more young New Zealanders will understand Alley's life and spirit, as there will be more local content added in the school curriculum of New Zealand history, she said.
The statue shows how Alley was reflecting on the Past and contemplating the future, MacWilliam said. ■
This photo taken on May 24, 2024 shows the exterior view of the Christchurch Arts Center in central Christchurch, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
This photo taken on May 25, 2024 shows a view of the Rewi Alley Memorial Park after a commemorative activity in the small town of Springfield in Canterbury, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
This photo taken on May 24, 2024 shows a statute of Rewi Alley at the entrance of the Christchurch Arts Center in central Christchurch, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
This photo taken on May 25, 2024 shows the Rewi Alley Memorial in the small town of Springfield in Canterbury, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)