Africans in Guangzhou: Money vs solitude

(ECNS) -- Nearly 20 percent of Africans doing business in Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong province earn more than 30,000 yuan ($4,823) per month, according to a survey conducted by Southern Metropolis Daily.

Of all 204 respondents, 165 agreed to reveal their income status, with 37 earning monthly salaries of over 30,000 yuan.

Two-thirds surveyed claimed they had come to Guangzhou for business, while the rest said they came to study.

Some 60 percent of all respondents said the reason they located to the city was because of its broad range of cheap and good quality commodities.

Merchandise purchased locally is sold at higher prices in Africa, with over 50% doubling their yields.

The item African merchants in Guangzhou purchase most is clothing, which is then transported to African countries, according to the survey. Some 70 percent said their main customers include middle and upper class families in their home countries.

The survey also found that 70 percent of African residents in the city are rejected by taxi drivers, with over 30 percent having the experience of being misunderstood because of their color. Nearly 50 percent admitted to sometimes feeling lonely in the metropolis.

According to the survey, 82 percent see themselves as part of the middle class or above in terms of economic status in their own countries.