LingNest语巢

About LingNest

Our Story

Keqing Gan, founder of LingNest, smiling outdoors with her young child

Founder

About me

Hi! 你好! I’m Keqing — a local high school Chinese teacher based in Auckland, New Zealand. With over nine years of language teaching experience across China and New Zealand, I’ve spent much of my life helping young people connect with language, culture, and identity.

LingNest was born during a season of growth — quite literally — as our family welcomed our second child. In our home, we navigate Chinese, Korean, and Kiwi cultures every day, often across multiple time zones and multiple passports. LingNest grew out of that lived reality, grounded in the belief that language is more than grammar and vocabulary — it’s a bridge to belonging.

您好!我叫柯卿,住在新西兰奥克兰,一座风大浪大、云也大的城市。我在这儿教中文,也在这儿做母亲。我教了九年中文,从中国教到新西兰。教的是词汇和句子,也是一种不被忘记的声音——孩子们用这声音去寻找他们是谁,从哪里来,要去哪里。

语巢是在我第二个孩子快要出生时慢慢发芽的。那时常常一边是大女儿追着滚来滚去的产球、一边是我满屋子找着滚来滚去的ipad画笔、一边是我丈夫跟紧急联络人语音说“今天还没发动!”。

我家不大,护照却不少;说话的人不多,说的语言倒热闹。中文、韩语、英文像三只小鸟,各自鸣叫,又一起筑巢。

我想,中文课若只教你写“山”、“水”、“你”、“我”,那它就只是一门功课;可要是它能教你看见汉字的绝美智慧、让你能用中文跟人恋爱吵架、或者带你回想起故乡门前的小河,炉子上的饭香,那它就是一座踏实的桥、一条归家的路。

语巢就是为这条路搭的一只小巢,风来时也不怕。

LingNest

Our mission

LingNest is here to build emotional anchors for immigrant families and Third Culture Kids. We create stories and resources that hold space for multilingual lives — starting with our upcoming Roots & Wings picture book series.

Alongside storybooks, we develop Chinese language materials with heart: resources that live in everyday life. From textbooks and booklets for teachers and families to beautifully designed postcards and calendars, every LingNest piece is made to spark connection.

LingNest 不是一项宏大的事业,它更像一小块为多语家庭松开的土壤,哪怕只是一小块,也能种出根来。我们希望,无论是在语言之间长大的孩子,还是移民父母,都能在这里歇一歇脚,种下一点属于自己的东西。

我们创作故事,也做资源。从《根与翼》绘本系列开始,到适合亲子和课堂使用的明信片、词卡和日历。不贵重,但像沙发上那条熟悉柔软的毛毯,只要看它在角落里,就觉得踏实安心。

语言于我,是我们生活里的气味和声音:饭桌上那颗被叫了三种名字的白菜,梦里喊出来的那个“妈妈”,还有孩子说得磕磕绊绊却一直记得的词。语巢想把这些词连着气味和声音收好,留给那些在路上走、在家里找、在变化中长大的你和我。

The team

Meet the team

Portrait of Tauma Lobacheva

Book Design, Layout & Formatting

Tauma Lobacheva

Tauma Lobacheva is a creative designer and community artist based in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. As a migrant herself, her understanding of Aotearoa’s culture has been a growing journey, one that continues to shape her art. She believes that stories and spaces can together build a sense of belonging, and her illustrations often become gentle bridges between people, places, and memories.

As the Creative Lead at Catalyse, a community development agency, Tauma brings over ten years of experience in media and graphic design, holding a Postgraduate Diploma in Media Design from St Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts. Her creative work spans several countries:

  • Supporting integration courses in Germany;
  • Placemaking projects in Aotearoa, including The Kūmara Awards 2024, community initiatives in Mairangi Bay and Hibiscus Coast;
  • Playful public projects such as audio walks and Chalk-Walks.

Tauma also is the illustrator for The Wind Between Mountains, a book in the Roots & Wings series. Her illustrations capture the invisible threads that connect two worlds — a shared breath across mountains and seas, woven through wool, wind, and memory.

Beyond her creative work, Tauma finds joy in windsurfing, hiking, swimming, reading, and singing — ways of staying close to nature, rhythm, and freedom.

Portrait of Qi Xie

Illustrator

Qi Xie

Qi Xie is the illustrator of LingNest’s JOY | Grow with Change series. Growing up in a family that loved art, she was drawn to painting and reading from an early age. Her background in fine arts and design now informs work across children’s books, illustration, art education, and creative products for young audiences. She brings warmth, imagination, and emotional depth to stories about growth, identity, and belonging.

  • Studied Art and Design at Shenzhen University
  • Programmes at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in Russia and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium
  • Worked across children’s books, toy design, illustration, and teaching
  • Co-developed educational card and board games for children in collaboration with the Shenzhen CDC

Illustrations by Qi Xie

Five people in embroidered traditional dress carry a golden straw dragon on poles — illustration by Qi XieJoy rides a cloud-like pillow over a city at sunset — from Joy’s PillowA red bus travels through a bright night-time city street — from Joy’s Pillow

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