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Pictures: Crowded street Chengdu, China,
Friendship Square in Dalian and The Altar of
Heaven, one of the trademark historical
landmarks in Beijing (Credits: Wikimedia,
authors: User:Colegota, Paul Louis, Saad Akhtar)
Chinese historians have documented
many stories from the Tang and Song
dynasties of the kunlun a group of
Blacks described in Chinese
historical records and legends who
lived in China at the time....a recent
study by the Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology there are
at least 10,000 Africans, mostly
businesspeople, living in Guangzhou
alone. My personal experience and
talks with others has affirmed that
there are Africans among all of the
major cities and many of the smaller
cities as well. How do people decide
to go to China? What do they do once
they are here? A perspective from
both myself, who lived in Beijing, as
well as Patrick, a native of Togo now
in Shanghai, and Jarred, from the US
who lived in the western city of
Chengdu for three years.
China's
Black Expats
nyone who is not blind, deaf, and dumb (and maybe even them)
knows about the recent meteoric rise of China to become one of
the most powerful economies and nations on Earth. What was a
communist and chronically underdeveloped economy thirty
years ago has now become second only to the United States as a
mover and shaker in global economic growth. This development
has attracted many, this author included, creating what some
have variously described as a gold rush mentality to participate
or gain from China’s current good times.
The history of Blacks in China, like most places on Earth, goes
back centuries, not just decades. Chinese historians have
documented many stories from the Tang and Song dynasties of
the kunlun a group of Blacks described in Chinese historical
records and legends who lived in China at the time. There is
also even a famous Peking Opera called Kunlun Nu (The Black
Slave) which revolves around the mythical and heroic exploits
of a kunlun in Tang dynasty China. They arrived
in China many ways, from adventurers, slaves or indentured
servants, or traders on the Silk Road during the times where China
was the undisputed world power. In more recent times, contact has
primarily been through Blacks from the West who have traveled to
China or Africans whose countries forged close ties with China
during and after their struggle for independence.
Though firm statistics are not always available, a recent study by the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology says there are at
least 10,000 Africans, mostly businesspeople, living in Guangzhou
alone. My personal experience and talks with others has affirmed
that there are Africans among all of the major cities and many of the
smaller cities as well. How do people decide to go to China? What
do they do once they are here? A perspective from both myself, who
lived in
Black Expat Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2008 2
by Reginald Smith
3
Beijing, as well as Patrick, a native of Togo now in Shanghai, and Jarred, from the US who lived in the
western city of Chengdu for three years.
One of the most popular ways to enter China for minimal expense is either through seeking education or
teaching English. Patrick, like many other Africans, received a scholarship from the Chinese government to
study in Chinese universities when he was 19. He had always wanted to study abroad and jumped at the
opportunity. Africans are by far the largest group of Black people in China and many arrived via the
scholarship exchange program with China. He obtained his bachelors and masters achieving a strong grasp
of both Mandarin and China in the process. He has continued to capitalize on the opportunities available in
China by starting his own Internet business in Shanghai, Sinovantage, which provides a host of IT sourcing
and web tools for the Chinese market.
I also went to China on scholarship to study for a semester. I had studied Chinese on weekends as a hobby for
a couple of years and later took the HSK, the Chinese equivalent of the Test of English as a Foreign Language
(TOEFL) test, and was awarded a scholarship by the Chinese Ministry of Education to study Chinese
language at Beijing Normal University. Even without a scholarship, tuition is normally very affordable – in
the range of $2,000 US per semester. It is also open to those with even the most minimal of qualifications in
the US, usually only a high school degree is sufficient for the larger schools and many smaller universities
barely ask for qualifications.
Another common method of entering China by Westerners is by teaching English. Jarred after graduating
with a degree in business administration realized he had been bitten by the travel bug. “After backpacking
through SE Asia for about a month I knew I wanted to travel and see more, or had some sort of bug. As far as
living abroad , I just knew and still know I want to live and experience interesting and very different places,
including other parts of the U.S. I’ve never seen.” He signed up to teach English and started his journey to
Chengdu, a large city in western China.
A third and common way is the business expat. Whether the adventurous entrepreneur or the corporate
executive, living in China as an expat can be exciting and rewarding, especially if salary and benefits are
generous. Some of the most exciting fields in China deal with supply chain or operations management (which
is in high demand) and careers in consulting or finance. However, almost every industry is making inroads in
China and there are a multitude of opportunities available.
Some of the more exciting opportunities are now
outside the main cities of Beijing, Shanghai, or
Guangzhou in rising (though admittedly less
cosmopolitan) cities such as Chengdu, Xi’An, and
Tianjin. There are many other types of expats
including travelers, diplomats, and more. About the
expat population, Patrick says, “In Shanghai you
have a bit of everything. As far as Blacks are
concerned I think students make the bulk of it. But
when you go to other parts of the country it
changes: teachers in smaller cities, working and
business people in southern cities such as
Shenzhen or Guangzhou.”
China, as a developing country, also has many
cultural challenges, including those unique to
people of color. Jarred talks about how living in
“I think for anyone
who makes a conscious
decision to live in
another country, it is
absolutely imperative
that one at least
attempts to learn the
local language. ”
Black Expat Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2008 3
Chengdu taught him a deeper sense of humility and also opened his eyes to the way some people have to live.
“Witnessing poverty on a level unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and then returning to America for visits and
now for work and witnessing the decadence and excess in which people live their lives,” is hard Jarred says.
Also, many Chinese people often have skewed impressions of foreigners: “most people base their
impressions of America through movies and TV, as we do with others.”
As is sadly often the case, there is an ignorant, sometimes unintentionally so, view of Blacks. “In Chengdu as
with many other Chinese cities, white, blond hair, blued eyed males are seen as the standard for Americans
and the standards for most foreigners. Advertisements are occasionally posted in Schools and around
Universities seeking a “White male” for various positions (tutors, teachers, models of all things). “I
personally don’t feel signs are posted with malicious intent as we may read into it here in the states, however
China in my opinion, as with a lot of Asia, has a perception with the darker skin. I am very light, and most
Chinese people didn’t really know what I was culturally, which was good, because I could be something
different everyday and get a different reaction from people. I think the more brothers and sisters can get
abroad and stand in front of someone who’s never seen another individual so different from them, the
quicker the wall of prejudices and discrimination will come down.” Patrick concurs, “Yes a lot in China,
racism in China I think is systematic and the problem is the Chinese themselves don’t know that they are
racists.”
These experiences, however, hardly permeate a trip to China and should not be an obstacle to traveling
there, making friends, and learning about the country and its culture. As with any foreign country, there are
many things to keep in mind. For example, it is imperative to study up on the country before you go and
have a clear idea of what you want to do. Learning the language, often the bête noire of many foreign
travelers, is also extremely important. Patrick, Jarred, and my own experiences in China were immensely
enriched by being able to speak Mandarin and read Chinese. This keeps you connected and also helps you to
understand more about the society you are in. There seems to be a great temptation by some expats to nestle
themselves in their respective expat enclave and live a life almost indistinguishable from their home country.
“(Mandarin) is very important in China,” says Patrick. Jarred adds, “I think for anyone who makes a
conscious decision to live in another country, it is absolutely imperative that one at least attempts to learn
the local language. There is such a difference in talking to someone in their own dialect, reading their books
written for their people in their own language…I have proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and understand
Sichuan dialect.” In my opinion, if you only what to experience the familiar, your experience living abroad
will be seriously limited.
Finally, though it is good to adopt the new home, you can’t leave all of your traditions behind. Patrick and
Jarred both miss the food and customs of their homes in Togo and the USA respectively. “I probably missed
Thanksgiving as a holiday the most, and custom wise I miss paying for a meal and it not turning into a duel
as to who will pay the bill. In China, face is very important and it’s customary to put up a huge display when
two parties are deciding who will take care of the bill. There is no splitting the check, as one person usually
and quite unfairly shoulders the entire bill for the table. I find it fairly ironic, because most Chinese friends I
have hate this custom but because of face are afraid to buck the trend and offer another alternative, so it
usually ends up being a pretentious show of two individuals, neither of who really want to pay!”
I could write pages about living in China, indeed books have been written on the subject, but I encourage any
who can at least visit to do so. Whether it is for the culture and history, the upcoming Beijing Olympics, or
just making cash, understanding China will be crucial to understanding the world that is currently evolving
and the opportunities and perils it will present.
Black Expat Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2008
4
Living & Spending (Shanghai)
Average Rent: RMB2,500-4,000 at least for decent accommodation, cheaper if shared
Meals: RMB10-30
Transportation: RMB2 for bus, taxi starting at RMB11 (first 3 km, and then RMB2.4/km)
Expensive compared to US? Moderately cheaper to as expensive or more expensive
depending on the area
Monthly Budget: RMB4000~8000/month
Modern amenities? Quite modern
Legal hurdles for foreigners: Visa restrictions have become stricter for African passport-
holders in the past few years. It’s easy to get into China but then hard to stay on a long term
basis. If you are sponsored by an employer or are an investor though it would be easier.
Top 3 things to bring: I can only think of two: food and cosmetics
Top 3 things to do: Try to go out of Shanghai to discover the real China. Because Shanghai
isn’t
Top 3 places to hang out: Expat bars, country mate homes and dormitories (for students),
Living & Spending (Chengdu)
Average Rent: RMB700-1100 for a One Bedroom
Meals: 3RMB for fried Rice or go wild w/ 30RMB per person for buffet style Hot Pot (pieces of
raw meat and vegetables come on a stick and are placed into a boiling pot shared by the entire
table. Food is cooked in the pot and then selected by the individual and eaten). Sounds
complicated, it’s not, but yes it does take a while to get full as the pieces of meat, veggies are
small.
Transportation: 1 RMB City bus w/ out Air condition. 2RMB w/ Air Condition. 7 RMB initial
taxi fare- 2 RMB per 1/4 km
Expensive compared to US? Inexpensive
Monthly Budget: RMB2000-3000
Modern amenities? Basic amenities vary depending on where you go and what type of
establishment you patronize. In Chendgdu as with most of China they stretch from the extremes
of luxuries to the holdovers from the 80s
Legal hurdles for foreigners: Obtaining proper visas, but nothing major. As with a lot of things
in China, even visas can be shoddy or fake and you’d still be cool.
Top 3 things to bring: 1. Own clippers, as I always had to shape myself up with a line after
going to a barber shop (They just can’t line you up like you want). 2.Decent
shoes/sneakers/kicks, as China has everything we have here, but trying to find a pair of shoes
in an average American male’s size can prove to be challenging. 3. Open mind.- this is most
important. Leave all else behind.
Top 3 things to do: Learn how to play Ma-jiang (like Dominos a little), enjoy the Hot Pot, visit
the Tian fu Square (very Big, empty, concrete and communist looking) and walk five minutes to
the Chendgu’s center city outdoor shopping mall as bright and commercial as NY’s Times
Square. The walk from the square to the shopping mall will give you a window and a small
glimpse into complexities and rapid changes of China.
Top 3 places to hang out: Tea House on the River ( can witness true Chengdu culture with
relaxed games of Ma jiang, Intense games of Cards, loud Chatting, family outings, ear waxing
by a “ professional” for 5 RMB(it does feel good , but I’m not 100% for certain it’s sanitary ) ,
and quick shoulder massages for 10 RMB. Basketball Courts on Sichuan University Campus,
and cheap 1 US cent/per stick Hot Pot Restaurants (although the latter again may not have
been very sanitary and the second day ain’t no joke in the bathroom).
Black Expat Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2008
5
Simba International hair dressing salon (SIH), the only official afro style hair dressing salon in China
with professionals from Africa, serves children, ladies and gentlemen from all nationalities with different
kinds of hair. We offer a range of quality services as follow for women and men:
Hair cut
Braiding
Cornrows
Dreadlocks
Styling
Relaxing
Coloring
Hair treatment
Sales of afro hair and body care products of leading brands
We are located in CBD Jianwai Soho, just Opposite of China World Trade Center(Guomao)
Address:
East 3rd ring road , Chaoyang Qu ,
Beijing
601, 2# Building,Jianwai SOHO
Tel: 010-58696459, Mob: 13552930114
Email: [email protected]
Please visit our website:
www.simbasalon.com
Black Expat Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2008
6