There were parts of Guangzhou that still resisted easy definition. For all its breakneck development - the steel and glass vaulting skyward, the incessant sprawl of new construction - some corners held on to an identity not yet absorbed by the city’s hunger for reinvention.
If you haven't read it yet I recommend Black Ghosts by Noo Saro-Wiwa. She's a British-Nigerian journalist writing about the African community in Guangzhou.
He laughed, short and dry. “So you teach the Chinese how to speak like you. And me…” he swept his arm towards the restaurant. “I feed my countrymen while they buy Chinese products to send back home. All of us, making China richer.” - An interesting and common perspective from the ground level.. I shared it too... but the truth was, the countries doing business with China were nearly always getting the better end of the deal. America was on the extreme end. The popular myth of the China as master negotiator was swallowed by the public. How and whether the wealth was distributed in the home country depended on the condition and systems of that country.
Brilliant, Nico. Describes exactly the difference between different types of 外国人。Sounds very similar to when I was in Guangzhou - the uncertainty amongst the African diaspora, the police raids. not to mention the casual racism. Elegantly written, great post.
Beautifully written. And me, last month, in Praia, Cape Verde restaurant I sat near Chinese couple. We started talking, with google translate. They were wholesale traders, living in Praia for 3 years already. And they spoke zero English, but fluent Creole!
Haha, true! 😅 Maybe my cynicism hadn’t quite kicked in at that point… Give it a few more months and I’d be fully fluent in the unspoken terms of our usefulness.
If you haven't read it yet I recommend Black Ghosts by Noo Saro-Wiwa. She's a British-Nigerian journalist writing about the African community in Guangzhou.
Yes! This one’s been on my radar for a while, I’ve heard good things but haven’t picked it up yet. Thanks for the reminder. 😊
He laughed, short and dry. “So you teach the Chinese how to speak like you. And me…” he swept his arm towards the restaurant. “I feed my countrymen while they buy Chinese products to send back home. All of us, making China richer.” - An interesting and common perspective from the ground level.. I shared it too... but the truth was, the countries doing business with China were nearly always getting the better end of the deal. America was on the extreme end. The popular myth of the China as master negotiator was swallowed by the public. How and whether the wealth was distributed in the home country depended on the condition and systems of that country.
Brilliant, Nico. Describes exactly the difference between different types of 外国人。Sounds very similar to when I was in Guangzhou - the uncertainty amongst the African diaspora, the police raids. not to mention the casual racism. Elegantly written, great post.
Beautifully written. And me, last month, in Praia, Cape Verde restaurant I sat near Chinese couple. We started talking, with google translate. They were wholesale traders, living in Praia for 3 years already. And they spoke zero English, but fluent Creole!
"Their presence here was tolerated but conditional." - Don't sell yourself short, Nico, we were tolerated and used too! 😉🙏
Haha, true! 😅 Maybe my cynicism hadn’t quite kicked in at that point… Give it a few more months and I’d be fully fluent in the unspoken terms of our usefulness.
Can’t wait! 😄👍🏼