A Distant Longing: Dunedin Chinese Garden Student Essay Competition Winners

Posted: Tuesday Jan 22, 2019

‘How does the Dunedin Chinese Garden, Lan Yuan, enhance the story of Chinese in Otago and what future role does the Garden play in New Zealand’s relationship with China?

Tell us in no more than 750 words and you could win up to $1000 NZD spending money on arrival in Dunedin, courtesy of the Dunedin Chinese Garden Trust!’

• Entry was open to students visiting Dunedin under the Dunedin Shanghai Scholarship Programme.
• The prizes for the winners:
  • 1st prize: $1000 NZD
  • 2nd prize: $375 NZD for two students, second equal
  • 4th prize: $100 NZD.

The competition was judged by Associate Professor James Beattie (Victoria University of Wellington), David Loughrey (Otago Daily Times), Séan Brosnahan (Toitū Otago Settlers Museum), and Margo Reid (Enterprise Dunedin).

Professor Beattie said that ‘The judges were delighted with the efforts and imagination shown in the essays. It was a difficult decision to select the winners, but the panellists all recognised that “The Realisation of a Distant Longing” by Tian Ying was a standout essay.’

‘The panellists would like to thank the contestants for their hard work,’ he said.

Prize-winning works will be published in the Dunedin Public Libraries publication NB, and may be published online by the Dunedin Chinese Garden, Dunedin Public Libraries, and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

1st Place

Title: “The Realisation of a Distant Longing”
Student: Tian Ying

=2nd Place

Title: “Antique Lan Yuan, Everlasting Milestone: A Powerful Witness to the China-New Zealand Relations Across Oceans”
Student: Tianyi Long

=2nd Place

Title: “An Indissoluble Symbol of Friendship: Dunedin Chinese Garden Lan Yuan”
Student: Yu Jiahui

4th Place

Title: “Forming a Forever Friendship: The Dunedin Chinese Garden”
Student: Yin Yirou