Onlydecadesago,thepopulationofGuangzhouwasalmostwhollyChinese.Today,itisatrulyglobalcity,aplacewherepeoplefromaroundtheworldgotomakenewlives,findthemselves,orfurthertheircareers.Alargenumberofthesemigrantsaresmall-scaletradersfromAfricawhodealinChinesegoods—oftenknockoffsorcopiesofhigh-endbrandeditems—tosendbacktotheirhomecountries.InTheWorldinGuangzhou,GordonMathewsexploresthequestionofhowthecitybecameacenterof“low-endglobalization”andshowswhatwecanlearnfromthatexperienceaboutsimilartransformationselsewhereintheworld.
Throughdetailedethnographicportraits,Mathewsrevealsaworldofglobalizationbasedoninformality,reputation,andtrustratherthanonformalcontracts.How,heasks,cansuchinformalrelationshipsemergebetweentwogroups—Chineseandsub-SaharanAfricans—thatdon’tshareacommonlanguage,culture,orreligion?AndwhathappenswhenAfricansmovebeyondtheirstatusastemporaryresidentsandbegintoputdownrootsandestablishfamilies?
Fullofunforgettablecharacters,TheWorldinGuangzhoupresentsacompellingaccountofglobalizationatgroundlevelandoffersalookintothefutureofurbanlifeastransnationalconnectionscontinuetoremakecitiesaroundtheworld.
LOW GLOBAL GUANGZHOU CHINA WORLD
