The delegation of more than 30 staff and pupils from Zhengzhou No2 Foreign Language Middle School, live in China's Henan province, more than 800km inland and northwest of Shanghai.
Not surprisingly, none of the visitors had been to a seaside beach before, Tahuna Intermediate principal Tony Hunter said.
``They're having a great time here. They've been out to Larnach Castle, Sandfly Bay and St Clair Beach. They live quite a way inland, so it was the first time that the kids had walked on sand on a beach. It was pretty exciting for them.''
He said they would be joining Tahuna Intermediate pupils in class in the mornings, and then explore the city in the afternoons.
They would also learn how to surf while they were here, and would spend a night at Camp Waiora before they depart on Friday.
Mr Hunter said the school had been working with staff at Zhengzhou No2 Foreign Language Middle School, and had built up their relationship to the point where they recently signed a sister schools agreement.
In addition, a digital platform of online collaborative learning spaces for pupils at both schools, had been set up.
It embraced both schools' goal of embracing each other's cultures and truly becoming ``globally engaged citizens''.
Mr Hunter said it was the start of what would become an ongoing pupil exchange programme, and it was hoped Tahuna Intermediate would take a small group of pupils to China later this year.
Zhengzhou No2 Foreign Language Middle School principal Mr Zhang Rongpu was delighted with the cultural welcome provided by Tahuna Intermediate's kapa haka group.
Through a translator, he said: ``Chinese civilisation and New Zealand civilisation is different. Both have their advantages. Holding exchanges with each other and studying the strengths of each other, promotes the progress and ability of both. That is the goal of our trade and it is also the duty on our shoulders.''
He hoped his delegation of teachers and pupils would learn New Zealand's ways and culture, and take back what they had learned and share it with fellow pupils.
