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The restaurant that Joey and Ugo Okonkwo own was packed on a recent Saturday night， with meal-time 1）banter alternating between English， Cantonese Chinese， and Nigerian dialects among the mainly Nigerian 2）patrons and the occasional Chinese girlfriend. In this bustling southern port city， it’s not an uncommon sight. Nor is the sight of marriages like Joey and Ugo’s. In Guangzhou， just next door to Hong Kong， a growing number of African traders and immigrants are marrying Chinese women， and mixed families like Joey and Ugo are grappling with questions about race and nationality， in a country that is often proud to be monocultural and is known for sometimes harsh 3）xenophobia.
Joey， who is a native of Guangzhou， speaks English with a West African lilt， which she picked up from Ugo， who is from Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria. Joey， whose Chinese name is Li Jieyi， says people regularly look at her 2-year-old daughter Amanda and wonder about her origins. “Foreigners say she looks like me， Chinese say she looks like her father. I don’t know why，” Joey says as she bustles around the restaurant.
China is home to 56 ethnicities. 90 percent of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group， while just 0.04 percent are foreigners， such as Africans. Even in Guangzhou， a cosmopolitan city of 10 million once known as Canton， they stand out. Around 20，000 Africans—mostly Nigerians—live here， thought to be one of the largest groups of foreigners in the city. Local media reports that the true number could be closer to 100，000， counting visitors and those without valid visas. 4）émigré groups estimate there are now some 400 African-Chinese families in Guangzhou.
For Africans， settling in China can be particularly 5）fraught with problems. While Americans and Europeans gain some respect from their nations’ economic strength， prejudice results in mistaken assumptions toward African migrants， such as： “they still can’t run their own countries in Africa，” says M. Dujon Johnson， author of the book Race and Racism in China. “So Chinese people feel ‘we’re definitely better than them.’”
“As a result，” says Mr. Johnson， “when mixed marriages do happen， the Africans tend to be better educated or wealthier than the average Chinese person. Although there may be social 6）stigma， there’s still the upward mobility.”
Mixed families face unique challenges in China. Complex residency rules and tightening immigration laws have precipitated a spike in the number of Africans staying illegally， raising more questions about fake marriages. Foreign 7）spouses don’t qualify for residency unless they’ve lived in China for five years. Many Africans in Guangzhou have to renew their visas every few months， and live under the constant threat of separation from their families. Ugo came to China 10 years ago because he was finding it impossible to run a business in Nigeria. He started exporting clothes to Nigeria， and finally made money handling manufacturing orders for Nigerian companies. He used some of his profits to start the restaurant with Joey， whom he married about four years ago. Ugo was planning to launch another business back home， but he wasn’t sure his family could cope with life there. Race was never a problem for his inlaws， he says. He speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin and respects his wife’s obligations to her parents. For other locals who didn’t know him， however， the assumption is that he can’t understand the language， and they sometimes hurl abuse at him.“You go to rent a house， and people say ‘You are a black monkey， there is no use in giving you a house，’” he says. He confronts people and while some are 8）brazen， some apologize. “Now it’s getting better，” he says， “because they’re getting used to us.”
Some Africans also worry that they’re being forced to compromise their parental rights. Some biracial children in China don’t qualify for a government-issued identification document unless they are registered under the Chinese mother’s family name. Children need that identification document to enroll in state schools， and have to pay tuition if they don’t have it.
Many Africans don’t realize this， or refuse， according to Ojukwu Emma， who heads a network of African community groups and who is also married to a Chinese woman. They end up having to pay school fees that range from 2000 to 5000 RMB a year. “The cost of education is very high， most of the children are not going to school，” Mr. Emma says. “The community has been trying to start an African-Chinese school， and even has a building， but it would take diplomatic intervention for it to be approved.”
There is a sense that interracial families are still a 9）taboo， says Elochukwu Chikwendu， head of a support group for mixed families and one of the first Nigerians in Guangzhou to marry a Chinese woman. Chinese relatives， even those with coveted Communist Party memberships， fear they will be thrown out if a relation marries an African， he says. But none of that stops people from falling in love.
“Love doesn’t have any boundaries， you do anything for someone that you love，”says Mr. Chikwendu.
乔伊和乌戈·奥孔库沃经营的餐馆在最近的一个周六晚上挤满了顾客，在用餐期间，餐馆内占多数的尼日利亚老顾客及偶尔出现的中国女伴逗闹着，夹杂着英语、粤语和尼日利亚方言。在这个繁华的南部港口城市，这并不是种罕见的景象。同样，乔伊和乌戈这样的婚姻组合也是见惯不怪了。在广州这座紧邻香港的城市，越来越多的非洲商人及非洲移民与中国女子结婚。在这个时常以自己的单一文化为傲而且有时颇为排外的国度，像乔伊和乌戈这样的混合家庭正与种族、国籍这类问题角力。 乔伊是一个广州本地人，说英语时带着一种西非式的抑扬顿挫，这是她从乌戈那儿学来的，乌戈则来自尼日利亚东南部的阿南布拉州。乔伊的中文名字叫做李洁仪（音译），她说人们常常看着她两岁大的女儿阿曼达，好奇她是哪国人。“外国人说她长得像我，中国人说她长得像她爸爸。我不知道为什么，”乔伊边说边在餐馆里忙活。
中国有56个民族。90%的人口都是汉族，而只有0.04%是外国人，比如说非洲人。即使是在广州，一个曾以“Canton”之名闻名遐迩，并且拥有一千万人口的国际化大都市，乔伊和乌拉的结合还是很扎眼。大约有两万名非洲人——多半是尼日利亚人——住在广州，被认为是这座城市里最大的异国群体之一。当地媒体报道，算上游客以及那些没有有效签证的非洲人的话，真实数字应该将近十万人。移民团体预估当下在广州大约有400个中非混合家庭。
对于非洲人来说，在中国定居尤其困难重重。美国人及欧洲人因其国家的经济实力受到一定尊重，而对于非洲移民的偏见往往导致错误的判定，比如：“他们在非洲仍然不能主宰自己的国家，”M·迪容·约翰逊说道，他是《中国的种族和种族主义》一书的作者。“所以中国人觉得‘我们肯定比他们好’。”
“这种心理导致的结果是，”约翰逊先生说道，“当出现跨国婚姻时，非洲人将能比普通中国人接受更好的教育，并且更富有。虽然可能还有社会污名，但他们仍在向上攀爬。”
混合家庭在中国面临着独特的挑战。复杂的户口规定以及越来越严苛的移民法律使得非法滞留的非洲人口激增，还引发了更多关于假结婚的问题。外国配偶除非已在中国生活五年，否则将没有资格获得居住权。很多在广州的非洲人每隔几个月就得续签签证，并且不断面临与家人分离的威胁。
乌戈十年前来到中国，因为他发现在尼日利亚做生意是不可能的。起初他向尼日利亚出口服装，后来通过接尼日利亚公司的生产订单而发家致富。四年前，他跟乔伊结了婚，用赚来的一部分钱一起开了那家餐厅。乌戈正打算折回家乡做点别的生意，但他并不确定他的家人能否适应那里的生活。乌戈说，对于他的岳父岳母来说，种族从来都不是个问题。他会说粤语也会说普通话，也很尊重妻子对其父母应尽的孝道。但是，对于很多不了解他的当地人来说，他们以为乌戈不懂中文，有时便会对他谩骂。“你去租房子，人们会说‘你是个黑鬼，给你房子也没用，’”他说道。他会直面驳斥那些人，然而有些人厚颜无耻，有些人则会道歉。“现在好多了，”他说，“因为他们渐渐习惯我们了。”
一些非洲人也在担心自己连做父母的一些权利也得让渡。在中国，一部分混血儿童除非用其中国母亲的姓氏注册登记，否则将没有资格获得政府颁发的身份证明文件。孩子需要那身份证明文件才能入读公立学校，如果没有，就没法享受免费义务教育。
很多非洲人并未意识到这一点，或者说他们拒绝接受那种规定，比如奥朱库·艾玛，一个非洲社区团体联盟的领导者，他也娶了一位中国妻子。他们最终不得不每年支付给学校两千到五千元人民币不等的费用。“教育的费用很高，大部分孩子都不上学，”艾玛先生说道。“社区一直试图开设一所中非学校，甚至连教学楼都有了，但那将需要外交干涉才能获批。”
人们总感觉跨种族家庭仍然是种禁忌，埃罗初库·齐可温杜说道，他是一个混合家庭后援团的领导者，也是广州第一批娶了中国妻子的尼日利亚人之一。他说，一些中国亲戚，特别是那些有着共产党党员身份的亲戚，还害怕因为亲属与非洲人联姻而被开除党籍。但没有什么能阻止人们坠入爱河。
“爱并无界限，为你所爱的人，你什么都会去做，”齐可温杜先生说道。
Joey， who is a native of Guangzhou， speaks English with a West African lilt， which she picked up from Ugo， who is from Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria. Joey， whose Chinese name is Li Jieyi， says people regularly look at her 2-year-old daughter Amanda and wonder about her origins. “Foreigners say she looks like me， Chinese say she looks like her father. I don’t know why，” Joey says as she bustles around the restaurant.
China is home to 56 ethnicities. 90 percent of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group， while just 0.04 percent are foreigners， such as Africans. Even in Guangzhou， a cosmopolitan city of 10 million once known as Canton， they stand out. Around 20，000 Africans—mostly Nigerians—live here， thought to be one of the largest groups of foreigners in the city. Local media reports that the true number could be closer to 100，000， counting visitors and those without valid visas. 4）émigré groups estimate there are now some 400 African-Chinese families in Guangzhou.
For Africans， settling in China can be particularly 5）fraught with problems. While Americans and Europeans gain some respect from their nations’ economic strength， prejudice results in mistaken assumptions toward African migrants， such as： “they still can’t run their own countries in Africa，” says M. Dujon Johnson， author of the book Race and Racism in China. “So Chinese people feel ‘we’re definitely better than them.’”
“As a result，” says Mr. Johnson， “when mixed marriages do happen， the Africans tend to be better educated or wealthier than the average Chinese person. Although there may be social 6）stigma， there’s still the upward mobility.”
Mixed families face unique challenges in China. Complex residency rules and tightening immigration laws have precipitated a spike in the number of Africans staying illegally， raising more questions about fake marriages. Foreign 7）spouses don’t qualify for residency unless they’ve lived in China for five years. Many Africans in Guangzhou have to renew their visas every few months， and live under the constant threat of separation from their families. Ugo came to China 10 years ago because he was finding it impossible to run a business in Nigeria. He started exporting clothes to Nigeria， and finally made money handling manufacturing orders for Nigerian companies. He used some of his profits to start the restaurant with Joey， whom he married about four years ago. Ugo was planning to launch another business back home， but he wasn’t sure his family could cope with life there. Race was never a problem for his inlaws， he says. He speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin and respects his wife’s obligations to her parents. For other locals who didn’t know him， however， the assumption is that he can’t understand the language， and they sometimes hurl abuse at him.“You go to rent a house， and people say ‘You are a black monkey， there is no use in giving you a house，’” he says. He confronts people and while some are 8）brazen， some apologize. “Now it’s getting better，” he says， “because they’re getting used to us.”
Some Africans also worry that they’re being forced to compromise their parental rights. Some biracial children in China don’t qualify for a government-issued identification document unless they are registered under the Chinese mother’s family name. Children need that identification document to enroll in state schools， and have to pay tuition if they don’t have it.
Many Africans don’t realize this， or refuse， according to Ojukwu Emma， who heads a network of African community groups and who is also married to a Chinese woman. They end up having to pay school fees that range from 2000 to 5000 RMB a year. “The cost of education is very high， most of the children are not going to school，” Mr. Emma says. “The community has been trying to start an African-Chinese school， and even has a building， but it would take diplomatic intervention for it to be approved.”
There is a sense that interracial families are still a 9）taboo， says Elochukwu Chikwendu， head of a support group for mixed families and one of the first Nigerians in Guangzhou to marry a Chinese woman. Chinese relatives， even those with coveted Communist Party memberships， fear they will be thrown out if a relation marries an African， he says. But none of that stops people from falling in love.
“Love doesn’t have any boundaries， you do anything for someone that you love，”says Mr. Chikwendu.
乔伊和乌戈·奥孔库沃经营的餐馆在最近的一个周六晚上挤满了顾客，在用餐期间，餐馆内占多数的尼日利亚老顾客及偶尔出现的中国女伴逗闹着，夹杂着英语、粤语和尼日利亚方言。在这个繁华的南部港口城市，这并不是种罕见的景象。同样，乔伊和乌戈这样的婚姻组合也是见惯不怪了。在广州这座紧邻香港的城市，越来越多的非洲商人及非洲移民与中国女子结婚。在这个时常以自己的单一文化为傲而且有时颇为排外的国度，像乔伊和乌戈这样的混合家庭正与种族、国籍这类问题角力。 乔伊是一个广州本地人，说英语时带着一种西非式的抑扬顿挫，这是她从乌戈那儿学来的，乌戈则来自尼日利亚东南部的阿南布拉州。乔伊的中文名字叫做李洁仪（音译），她说人们常常看着她两岁大的女儿阿曼达，好奇她是哪国人。“外国人说她长得像我，中国人说她长得像她爸爸。我不知道为什么，”乔伊边说边在餐馆里忙活。
中国有56个民族。90%的人口都是汉族，而只有0.04%是外国人，比如说非洲人。即使是在广州，一个曾以“Canton”之名闻名遐迩，并且拥有一千万人口的国际化大都市，乔伊和乌拉的结合还是很扎眼。大约有两万名非洲人——多半是尼日利亚人——住在广州，被认为是这座城市里最大的异国群体之一。当地媒体报道，算上游客以及那些没有有效签证的非洲人的话，真实数字应该将近十万人。移民团体预估当下在广州大约有400个中非混合家庭。
对于非洲人来说，在中国定居尤其困难重重。美国人及欧洲人因其国家的经济实力受到一定尊重，而对于非洲移民的偏见往往导致错误的判定，比如：“他们在非洲仍然不能主宰自己的国家，”M·迪容·约翰逊说道，他是《中国的种族和种族主义》一书的作者。“所以中国人觉得‘我们肯定比他们好’。”
“这种心理导致的结果是，”约翰逊先生说道，“当出现跨国婚姻时，非洲人将能比普通中国人接受更好的教育，并且更富有。虽然可能还有社会污名，但他们仍在向上攀爬。”
混合家庭在中国面临着独特的挑战。复杂的户口规定以及越来越严苛的移民法律使得非法滞留的非洲人口激增，还引发了更多关于假结婚的问题。外国配偶除非已在中国生活五年，否则将没有资格获得居住权。很多在广州的非洲人每隔几个月就得续签签证，并且不断面临与家人分离的威胁。
乌戈十年前来到中国，因为他发现在尼日利亚做生意是不可能的。起初他向尼日利亚出口服装，后来通过接尼日利亚公司的生产订单而发家致富。四年前，他跟乔伊结了婚，用赚来的一部分钱一起开了那家餐厅。乌戈正打算折回家乡做点别的生意，但他并不确定他的家人能否适应那里的生活。乌戈说，对于他的岳父岳母来说，种族从来都不是个问题。他会说粤语也会说普通话，也很尊重妻子对其父母应尽的孝道。但是，对于很多不了解他的当地人来说，他们以为乌戈不懂中文，有时便会对他谩骂。“你去租房子，人们会说‘你是个黑鬼，给你房子也没用，’”他说道。他会直面驳斥那些人，然而有些人厚颜无耻，有些人则会道歉。“现在好多了，”他说，“因为他们渐渐习惯我们了。”
一些非洲人也在担心自己连做父母的一些权利也得让渡。在中国，一部分混血儿童除非用其中国母亲的姓氏注册登记，否则将没有资格获得政府颁发的身份证明文件。孩子需要那身份证明文件才能入读公立学校，如果没有，就没法享受免费义务教育。
很多非洲人并未意识到这一点，或者说他们拒绝接受那种规定，比如奥朱库·艾玛，一个非洲社区团体联盟的领导者，他也娶了一位中国妻子。他们最终不得不每年支付给学校两千到五千元人民币不等的费用。“教育的费用很高，大部分孩子都不上学，”艾玛先生说道。“社区一直试图开设一所中非学校，甚至连教学楼都有了，但那将需要外交干涉才能获批。”
人们总感觉跨种族家庭仍然是种禁忌，埃罗初库·齐可温杜说道，他是一个混合家庭后援团的领导者，也是广州第一批娶了中国妻子的尼日利亚人之一。他说，一些中国亲戚，特别是那些有着共产党党员身份的亲戚，还害怕因为亲属与非洲人联姻而被开除党籍。但没有什么能阻止人们坠入爱河。
“爱并无界限，为你所爱的人，你什么都会去做，”齐可温杜先生说道。