Changle, in Fujian Province, has been known for the past century as the "home of Chinese emigrants," due to the thousands of locals who have packed their bags and settled around the world.

Under the administration of the provincial capital Fuzhou and facing the Taiwan Straits, Changle is also the place of origin of numerous families who moved to Taiwan in 1949.

For centuries, Fujian has been a major source of Chinese immigrants to the US, and the Fujian dialect can be widely heard in many Chinatowns. Estimations say that more than 200,000 people from Changle have moved to the US in the past decades, drastically changing the make-up of the emigrant diaspora. 

They leave Changle to seek their fortunes across the Pacific, but their connection with their hometown never fades. Overseas Chinese have built houses in Changle in a unique architectural style, including such features as sharp spears on multi-storey houses. Some public facilities like the town halls are usually built in typically American fashion.

The countryside around Changle seems at first glance to be similar to many such rural areas, where children and the elderly are left behind.

In order to one day go abroad with their relatives, those few young adults left in the area are busy developing various skills that will give them an edge when looking for a job abroad.

It may take many steps and several years for a whole family to finish their journey and be united together on the shores of a foreign land that is now to be called home.

Global Times

A girl plays outside a cultural hall in the town of Tantou, built with contributions from people who have moved overseas. Photo: CFP

Houses in a village near Changle display a mix of exotic and traditional features. Photo: CFP

Chen Bixian, 60, was deterred by the expensive cost of emigration, and decided to work on dilapidated farmland in the village. Photo: CFP