On March 23, 2007, the Shukumani Primary School of Tembisa,to the north of the O R Tambo International Airport, was in great rejoicing. Guests from various fields, the staff and the pupils of the school gathered on the campus to attend the inauguration of the combi court sponsored by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. These guests were Minister Councillor Zhou Yuxiao, First Education Secretary Wei Yanggen from the Chinese Embassy; the officials from the Department of Education of Gauteng Province, the school district and the local government; the principles of four neighbouring middle schools; and the leaders of the committee of the Tembisa community. Local media and a journalist in South Africa from People's Daily were invited to cover the event on the spot.
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The inauguration started in the national anthem of South Africa at 9:30 am. The honour guard of the pupils, holding the flags of China and South Africa, marched the conference. Mr. Mathonsi, the Principal of Shukumani Primary School, introduced the donation of R 100 000 from the Chinese Embassy to build the combi court. He appreciated to the Chinese Embassy for doing a good thing for the pupils and the youth of the community. This court is an embodiment of friendship between China and South Africa. The officials from the Department of Education of Gauteng Province, the school district and the local government delivered their speeches. They believed that China was a reliable friend, partner and brother. Minister Councillor Zhou Yuxiao started his speech with greetings in local language to the audience. He said it was a great honour to attend this inauguration with South African friends, the staff and the pupils. It is a pleasure for the Chinese Embassy to do an action-oriented thing for South African friends. In his speech, he mentioned the successful state visit of President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China to South Africa in this February. The Chinese government supported the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA) and would like to provide the support of training human resources to South Africa. The year 2008 will mark the tenth anniversary of the officially bilateral relations between China and South Africa. He sincerely wished friendship between China and South Africa would live from generation to generation. His speech was frequently punctuated with warm applause. During the event, the pupils gave a performance of African song and dance.
Guests came to the newly-built combi court to attend the ceremony of cutting the ribbon at 12:00. After Minister Councillor Zhou and Principal Mathonsi finished their cuttings, the volleyball team and tennis team rushed into the court. Minister Councillor Zhou served the first ball. Guests marvelled at performance of the pupils in the court. The leader of Tembisa community said that this combi court was the best court in this region.
After the inauguration, Minister Councillor Zhou, accompanied by the officials from the Department of Education of Gauteng Province, recorded this historical page at the request of the school.
In recent years, the Chinese Embassy did many action-oriented things with the Ambassador Foundation. Besides this court, the Embassy sponsored the research of the Centre for Chinese Studies at the University of Stellenbosch; the chess project of primary and middle schools in Mpumalanga Province; and the building of toilets and the donation of computers for some primary schools.