EIGHT Eastern Bay young people have arrived in China to teach English.

The trip has been organised by Simon Appleton, a former Ōpōtiki District Council tourism and economic development officer.

During his time at the council, which ended in March 2014, Mr Appleton worked on Asia readiness and economic connections to China, also facilitating education exchange programmes.

He left the council to focus on his education consultancy firm and now runs a language school in Napier.

Mr Appleton said the relationship between China and Ōpōtiki began when John Forbes was mayor.

“We had discussions with iwi, Te Whānau ā Apanui and Whakatōhea, who were interested in opportunities for rangatahi, and there has been a lot of interest in it,” he said.

“This is the first programme and hopefully there will be more.”

The English teaching and cultural exchange programme could run four times a year, every three months.

“We also have opportunities for people to go there for a year’s work experiences,” Mr Appleton said.

“The salary is competitive – you can save more money there than you could working in New Zealand.”

The eight youths left for China on Monday last week, chaperoned by council events and tourism manager Joseph Hayes, who also works for Mr Appleton’s language school.

The Ōpōtiki News spoke to 26-year-old Zarius Waters before the trip, who said she was “really excited” about going to China.

“A few of us haven’t been to China before,” she said.

“We will be there for three months, teaching English to high school students at the Nanchang Foreign Language School.”

Ms Waters said she would be staying at an apartment at the school.

“It’s also a cultural exchange, so they can build a relationship with the Bay of Plenty,” she said.