Features

Shandukani Mulaudzi, Chinese mall this overhaul: Revamping the retail model:

With the mushrooming of Chinese retail nodes in Johannesburg competition has increased, causing a silent tension. How will these malls adapt their models in the current climate?

Caro Malherbe, visit their website a migrant.” href=”https://chinesejoburg.com/?page_id=268″>More than a merchant, more than a migrant:

What do we really know about small Chinese businesses in Johannesburg? We might think of red lanterns, black-bean pastries, herbal teas, doll-like chiffon dresses and a fat, golden cat with a metronome paw.

We delve a little deeper and speak to Chinese business owners about their struggles to fit in – and their struggles to get out.

Leigh-Ann Carey, Cultural ties: real and fictional:

Chinese expatriates in Johannesburg are using the media as a means to stay connected to their culture as well as to foster new cultural practices. Stories told through movies influence how people live and express their Chinese connection in Johannesburg.

Dineo Bendile, Made in China: the professional expat:

A new type of Chinese immigrant is moving to South Africa – the skilled, educated professionals who are unafraid of exploring new territory. Nomads with iPads, they make new lives for themselves wherever they are. Who are they and why have they become China’s new commodity?

Nokuthula Manyathi, No Longer Bound: New spaces create new priorities:

The first wave of Chinese women immigrated to South Africa in the early 1900s, after their husbands had received employment and business opportunities. These women came from a country that had a culture of traditions that valued men over women. Male superiority placed them in subordinate roles. When they moved to South Africa some of these traditions fizzled away with the advent of the birth of first and second generation South African Chinese women.  What contributed to first and second generation women losing of the strong ties with traditional customs? What are the traditions they cling to?

Nolwazi Mjwara, Chinese school ghost haunts immigrant education:

The Chinese school in Johannesburg was a hub of culture, language and development for the Chinese community. In the mid-1990s the school was taken over by the government and no longer serves the Chinese community. This feature explores the consequences for the children of the most recent Chinese immigrants.

Thuletho Zwane, Mural mural on the wall, who’s the visual artist among us all:

In a quest to find a South African artist of Chinese origin, Thuletho Zwane talks to art industry experts, including gallery owners, art journalists, artists and academics to find out why there is a scarcity of Chinese South African visual artists.

Liesl Frankson, For better or worse: Marrying outside the Chinese community:

For a young Chinese South African, marrying outside the Chinese community can still create problems with older generations. Marrying “out” can sometimes mean being left out by some family and community members.

Sibusisiwe Nyanda, “I’m pretty much South African” – Identity and culture among Chinese youth in South Africa:

The dynamics within immigrant societies are complex and difficult to navigate. The Chinese community in Johannesburg is an example of this complexity. Within the Chinese South African community exists a group of young people who consider themselves more South African than Chinese. According to this group, there is no real balance between traditional heritage and the “modern” present as they are unapologetically in tune with the latter.

White is for death. Red is for luck. Incense guides the spirit to a better place. Like all of us, the Chinese community in Johannesburg has to deal with death and burial. This process turns out to be a journey of the individual, through bureaucratic and language barriers, old and new traditions, and waiting.

Mia Swart, City of Gold: Of homes and stepping stones: 

Johannesburg has attracted many Chinese immigrants in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their children. Some immigrants have found this life and a home in the City of Gold but for others the city was merely a stepping stone. They dispel the notion of a “Chinese invasion” by wanting to go home.

Palesa Radebe, Lost in translation: Chinese migrants and the language barrier:

Chinese migrants who arrive in South Africa with a lack of English depend on local shop assistants to help them speak to their customers. For shop owners and their assistants to understand each other, they have to come up with creative ways to communicate.

Nomatter Ndebele, The shifting sands of traditions:

This is the story of a Chinese family that has to navigate its way between three distinct attitudes towards tradition and find a middle ground that allows them to remain bound to each other.

The long relationship the Chinese community has with South Africa can be traced as far back as the early 1600s. Their presence surged in the late 19th century following the discovery of gold. The Pon family, a well-known South African Chinese family in Johannesburg, first arrived here at this time. The history of this family can be seen as a microcosm of the larger history of the Chinese people in South Africa.

Ray Mahlaka, Chinese in the Kasi:

The Chinese journey to South Africa is well documented. However, their story in parts of the country like Soweto is largely untold. The township was an area where the Chinese could settle and set up shop after the passing of the Group Areas Act of 1950. Since then, the Chinese presence in Soweto has flourished with the arrival of foreign nationals.

Emelia Motsai, We too, are black:

The Chinese South African community is small and keeps a low profile. Very little is said about their history in the country, about their history during apartheid. How were they affected by apartheid? Did they suffer like black groups or did they enjoy benefits bestowed only on white people?

Pheladi Sethusa, East side story: false foundations:

The Chinese community in Johannesburg has grown since South Africa became a democratic country, witnessed in the rapid growth of “new Chinatown” in Cyrildene and the China malls mushrooming around Johannesburg.  Left out of this growth is the “old Chinatown” whose popularity has waned since 1994.