ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the transnational and translocal trajectories of Congolese migrants in Guangzhou, China. Although Africans in Guangzhou have been the subject of ample research by both Chinese and Western scholars, we argue that most studies tend to overlook the diversity of Africans in Guangzhou. Moreover, the transnational trajectories are not sufficiently elaborated in most studies, as they take Guangzhou as the only site of investigation. In our study we focused on the mobility of one particular group, Congolese migrants. Fieldwork was done in the neighbourhood of Dengfeng, which acts as a key node in the translocal and transnational trajectories of Congolese and other African migrants in Guangzhou. Besides Dengfeng, we also followed the Congolese when they ventured into other Chinese cities. In addition to fieldwork in China, ethnographic work was also conducted in Kinshasa and Brazzaville. In order to better understand their translocal trajectories and mobility rationale within a South–South context, we introduce a new Chinese concept of guoke (transient guest). This term was invoked by a Congolese interlocutor during fieldwork.
