Overseas Chinese

Many people move far from their original homes to live in new lands. These people are often called the Chinese diaspora or overseas Chinese. This group includes people of Chinese origin living outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese people in the world.

In 2023, about 10.5 million people living outside mainland China were born there. This is a small part, or 0.7 percent, of the total population of China. Different names are used to describe these people depending on their background.

There are many ways to describe people of Chinese descent. The term Huaqiao refers to people with Chinese citizenship living outside the PRC or ROC. Some people use the term Huayi to talk about anyone with Chinese ancestry. This includes people who have become citizens of other countries.

People from southern China sometimes call themselves Tangren. This name refers to the old Tang dynasty from a long time ago. In the mid-1800s, Chinese settlers in San Francisco used this name. They called their neighborhood Tangrenjie, which we now call Chinatown.

Moving away from China has happened for many centuries. As far back as the 10th century, Chinese people migrated to new territories. In the 1400s, a man named Zheng He led big trips to trade. He was an envoy for the Ming empire and had Iranian ancestry. He sent Cantonese and Hokkien people to explore the South China Sea.

This helped create a maritime hub in the Malacca Strait. Later, in the mid-1800s, more people left China during the era of European colonialism. Many moved to find work on plantations or in mines.

Many people moved to find better lives or to escape hard times. During the California Gold Rush, many people went to the United States. Others went to Australia to dig for gold or build railways. In the mid-1800s, about 18,000 Chinese workers went to the British West Indies. These workers went to places like Jamaica and Trinidad.

Some people from the Guangdong province moved because of poverty or famine. In the 1900s, wars and revolutions made even more people leave. Many people fled through ports in Fujian, Guangdong, and Shanghai. These migrations were among the largest in Chinese history.

Today, overseas Chinese live in almost every part of the world. They live in North America, Europe, and many parts of Southeast Asia. In recent years, many have moved to African nations.

There are over 1 million Chinese people living in Europe. In Russia, there are about 200,000 people living in the Far East. Many overseas Chinese send money back to their families in China. In 2018, China received over US$67 billion in money sent from abroad. This money helps relatives improve their lives and their homes.