What Makes China Dream Lose Its Appeal for African Migrants

(Guangzhou) – Little North Road in downtown Guangzhou has long been dubbed by locals as "chocolate town". It is where African traders flood in to shops to bargain for wigs, Burqas of all colors and mobile phones of unknown brands. Some haggle with local vendors in fluent Mandarin, but languages such as Swahili and Hausa are commonly heard.

In 2014, the southern industrial hub was home to the largest African community in Asia, a study by Guangzhou University published that year showed. But China's slowing economy coupled with a crackdown on illegal aliens and deep-rooted racism – particularly against immigrants of color – has driven out thousands of Africans from what was once called the "oriental Brooklyn".