Yang Feng's relatives didn't think he could "eat bitterness" as they once had in starting the family business. So to prove himself, the 24-year-old took himself off to Luanda, the capital of Angola in Africa, the wild frontier of Chinese business.

Yang, from Zhejiang Province, is one of the fuerdai (second rich generation), those born into families that made their money in the 1980s. He inherited his mother's bamboo charcoal product business a few years ago, but found it difficult to do business with her old clients. 

"Many of our old clients think I'm too young to work with, they think all we know is how to have fun in the bars," he told the Global Times.

He sees Luanda as a chance to make money, and, more importantly, to prove himself.

Most Chinese in Africa are employees of Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other large firms. But today more and more young people like Yang are arriving to start their own businesses. 

It is estimated there are about 580,000 to 800,000 Chinese on the African continent. The largest number of Chinese can be found in South Africa, followed by Nigeria. Countries like Angola, Egypt, Ghana and Ethiopia have seen an influx of young Chinese, according to the Southern Africa General Chamber of Commerce in Zhejiang Province.

"Africa offers opportunities now," said Luo Lingjuan, head of the chamber, "With growing inflation and unemployment in China, many young people cross the sea to seek their fortune."

Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said Chinese businesspeople have a better chance of success in Africa than in Europe and America.

"Even though there are some safety concerns while doing business in Africa, the chance of success is higher than countries in Europe and America because they have a huge potential market. It's just like China back in the 1980s," he told the Global Times.

Land of opportunity

Zhang Yipeng said that when a study abroad consultant recommended South Africa, she had no idea where it was, and neither had her parents.

But in the end, she chose to study finance in Cape Town, the second-most populous city in South Africa, instead of picking one of the usual destinations for Chinese students, like Australia, the US and Canada. She was the only Chinese student among some 800 in the department.

After graduating in 2009, she came back to China and started an import business to introduce African wine to Chinese customers. She said new graduates could earn at least 12,000 yuan ($1,890) a month in South Africa, way higher than many of their peers in China.

"There is too much competition in China. But in Africa, as long as you work hard, you can earn much more than many local people," she told the Global Times.

Zhang sees herself as lucky. The number of Chinese graduates is expected to reach 6.8 million in 2012, while official statistics show that the graduate unemployment rate is as high as 25 percent, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Unofficial estimates put the number higher, saying about a third of graduates fail to land on a job after completing their degree.

As a result, last year the Ministry of Education decided to rein in uncontrolled expansion of universities by urging institutions around the country to reduce student intake.

But the growth of overseas Chinese enterprises in Africa is creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. A major Chinese shoe manufacturer, Hua Jian, started a factory in Ethiopia just a few months ago, with a plan to invest $2 billion and create 100,000 local jobs over the next decade, according to Xinhua.

Besides providing job opportunities for local people, many Chinese companies are willing to hire Chinese students studying in Africa instead of dispatching them from China, Zhang said.

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Bug invasion

Anti-Chinese sentiment in some African countries is growing as the numbers of Chinese people and businesses increase in Africa. It goes with a traditional Chinese saying, "One Chinese is a dragon, but many Chinese are bugs."

The 29-year-old Zhang Yonggang, a fluent Arabic speaker, was dispatched to Africa by China Metallurgical Group Corporation right after graduation. From Saudi Arabia to Libya and Sudan, Zhang saw a complete different world from his homeland.

He said as a translator in China, he could earn about 6,000 yuan, but double that in Africa. With few expenses, he can save as much as 10,000 yuan a month.

But dealing with local people was not an easy job. Zhang soon found himself trapped between China heat and China hate.

"Some people are biased against China. They think Chinese people come here to take away their resources, and take the money we give them for granted," he told the Global Times.

Last year he was beaten up in Sudan on a construction site when he warned a local worker to be careful with the materials. The guy punched him in his face angrily and yelled, "Go back to China! We can build this road by ourselves!"

Since then, Zhang said he has been seriously thinking about returning to China. He believes his experiences in Africa can help him find a better job at home.

China is Africa's largest trade partner, and the bilateral trade volume reached $160 billion in 2011, representing a 30-percent increase year-on-year, according to Xinhua.

The total investment by Chinese enterprises in Africa jumped 20 times since 2003 to reach $10 billion in 2011.

Yet helping African people out of poverty, as Chinese firms see it, does not always guarantee a friendly reward.

Earlier in January this year, 29 Chinese construction workers in Sudan were taken hostage by rebels in Southern Kordofan state. They were released 10 days later. It was the third abduction of Chinese in Sudan since 2004 and highlighted the risks of China's investment in Africa.

Another two Chinese workers in Egypt were kidnapped by several unknown gunmen in March. The kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of $83,000 for their release.

Security concerns are the main reason that stops many young Chinese from moving to Africa.

Zhang Yi, a postgraduate student of Communication University of China, told the Global Times that she gave up the idea of going to Africa after serious consideration.

"People keep telling me that it is easy to find jobs and make money in Africa, but what's the point of risking your life to bring money home?" she asked.

Xu Lei, an SOE employee who often goes on business trips to Ethiopia, said many Chinese workers live in compounds and are isolated from their host communities due to the difference of language, culture and values.

"To seek opportunities in Africa, those fresh graduates need to ask themselves a question: How much do they want to know about the country,"  he said. "If they just want to make money and go, without learning local languages and adopting local customs, they might find it hard to adjust their new life."

Where is home?

In recent years, Chinese migrants have been moving from South Africa to smaller, less populated and more secure countries in the region, including Namibia and Zambia, according to a report released by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office under the State Council.

Chinese migration trends are linked with agriculture, it said. With decreasing amounts of arable land in China, several thousand farmers have emigrated to Africa. In the rural areas in Sudan for example, there's a huge market for Chinese vegetables.

Some settle down because they are attracted by the country, and some see it as a way station before moving to Western countries.

Hundreds of Chinese businessmen have reportedly used Africa as a platform to obtain Hong Kong residence. The Capital Investment Entrant Scheme issued by the special administrative region government allows Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country to move to Hong Kong with no less than HK$ 6.5 million in investment assets.

The report also found out that the number of well-educated migrants, especially women, is increasing.

Entrepreneurial migrants find themselves traveling frequently between China and Africa, but are still uncertain where home is. Zhang Yipeng said she is thinking about returning to South Africa.

"My business in China is going well, I think I am ready to make a longer-term commitment to Africa," she said.