With a population of just under 150,000 at the last census (2006), the Chinese community is the largest of the Asian communities.

 

 

 The Year of the Dragon 2012, is a time for new business ventures and projects. Euphoric and unpredictable, this is a year for outlandish schemes and taking risks personally and economically as sound decisions will benefit generations to follow. Dragon babies are considered lucky and auspicious, and bring good luck and fortune to that family for many generations.

 

Around this auspicious time of Chinese New Year it is a big part of Chinese culture and custom to give fruit to friends, family, and to business clients, as this takes away the bitter taste from the past and present challenges and situations that have caused harsgips and greif.

 

Red packets with gold chinese characters (longevity, prosperity, good health) are filled with money and given to grandchildren by the grandparents and also given to sons and daughters by the older generation (grandparents). This custom has been practised for hundreds of years as it is symbolic to save for the fututre of your family and also in light of the following generations that have not yet been born.

 

 

The Chinese immigrants are generally well-educated professionals or business people with internationally transferable skills. In contrast to the pioneers of a century ago, the new Chinese migrants tend to be well informed and articulate; their desire for recognition and integration has also made them active in philanthropy and politics.

 

One of the largest sub categories of the Chinese community are the many international students who largely inhabit the inner city and fringe areas. It is within this 15-30 age group that the Chinese community are slightly more representative than in the NZ population as a whole. A high number of the Chinese population tend to be business owners, predominantly in the areas of retail and restaurants.

 

Geographically, the Chinese community in Auckland is spread across the city centre and in the larger suburbs of Howick, Pakuranga, Mount Albert and Mount Roskill. These areas have seen sustained growth, a reflection of increasing levels of migrants into the community who are both highly educated and skilled.

 

Media wise, the Chinese population is one of the best served communities with a wide variety of media options, including dedicated television services, radio stations and many free Chinese language publications (currently more than 20 in the Auckland area.

 

As a whole, Mandarin is the most widely spoken of the Chinese dialects, closely followed by Cantonese. In print, most of the publications use Traditional Chinese.

 

The Internet is another extremely popular medium through which the Chinese community gets information. One of the most popular websites being Auckland based SkyKiwi, which regularly appears in the top 10 Hitwise websites. There are also many others including Chinese Town and 180net, to name a couple.

 

Almost 150,000 at 2006 census

The Asian population increased by almost 50% over the 1986 - 2006 period 

 Almost 97,500 of these are in Greater Auckland.

The Auckland Chinese community has grown by over 800% in the last 20 years

Nearly 54,000 of these Auckland Chinese were born in China - an increase of over 3000% since 1986

While about 20% of this population were born in New Zealand, high levels of migration have contributed extensively to this growth and with migration, has come an influx of new cultures, attitudes, languages, customs and beliefs.

Chinese New Year
21 Jan              ASB LunarFest. ASB Showgounds, Greeenlane

23 Jan              The Year of the Dragon, Chinese New Year Celebrations.