Over the past two decades, China has become a new attractive destination for migrants from all over the world, including Africa. Guangzhou in south China, the third largest city in China and with a long history of international trade, is attracting many Africans, primarily to do business. Yuexiu, one of the oldest districts in Guangzhou, has seen the emergence of Baohanzhi Street, home to the largest African community in Guangzhou and now famed as "Little Africa."

The daily lives of Africans who have made Baohanzhi Street their home have been documented by Chinese photographer Li Dong for more than two years. The recent striking social and economic transformations in China and the emergence of migrant communities as the "new Guangzhou residents" fascinated Li. To capture the new phenomenon through his lenses he moved into a tiny 5-square-meter rented room in Baohanzhi Street, living and working from there.

An exhibition of his photographs, titled Baohan Street [also known as Baihanzhi Street]: An African Community in Guangzhou, toured France, Germany and Belgium from September 18 to December 12, 2014.

World of documentary photography

Before becoming a professional photographer, Li worked in engineering design at the Guangdong Petrochemical Engineering Design Institute after graduating from the Zhejiang University in 1989.

While at the design institute, because of his fluent English, he was assigned to handle some foreign-funded projects, enabling him to have the opportunity to travel to Italy, Germany and other countries on business. "It was then that I started to pay attention to China's changing role in the world," Li told ChinAfrica. He began trying to "objectively" document China's modernization and internationalization through his photographs.

Several years later, Li quit the institute and set up his own chemical company. However, a car accident in 2006 made him bedridden for a long time and the company ran into problems, eventually being forced to close. Li then became more interested in photography.

He decided to focus on documentary photography. "Chinese society is in a period of transition, which is similar to the process of modernization in Europe. I do not want my photography to be simply about beauty and skills but to record society objectively. I pursue social significance in my work," he said.

Ordinary people from all walks of life are his subjects. Through his eyes the viewer comes to know the lonely cleaner from Yunnan Province who hides in a barber's shop to watch TV; the plasterer who has made his fortune through skill and hard work and now owns a five-storied building in his hometown; a convivial landlord in Guangzhou, who revels in eating and drinking; barbecue stall owners from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and many more.

Pursuing Chinese dreams

In the beginning, Li was documenting the lives of ordinary Chinese. His plan was to record the lives of 100 Chinese families to reflect the social change and transformation in China. He didn't pay much attention to the African community in Guangzhou. The Baohanzhi Street series happened through a chance encounter.

One day, while photographing a shoemaker, he met an Angolan, who gave his name only as Sage. The shoemaker introduced them and Li learned that the African had been in China for over two years, running his own small company. The money Sage made in China went to support his wife and three children back in Angola. Li was intrigued and wanted to photograph Sage. The African agreed to have Li visit his home for the photo.

The incident triggered Li's interest in the African community in China and he began photographing more Africans living in Guangzhou. It was no bed of roses. Many refused to have their photos taken as they were worried the police might find out their visa had expired. Some thought their photographs would be used for other purposes.

To dispel their doubts, Li moved into the tiny room in a building in Baohanzhi Street where over 200 Africans lived. He was the only Chinese there. Living cheek by jowl with the African community enabled him to take a closer look at their lives.

Opposite Li's room lived a friendly Sudanese known only as Monem. They became friends and Monem helped Li form a relationship with the African community, which included drinking beer and chatting with them in the street.

Monem told Li he came to Guangzhou on the call of his elder brother, who had lived in China for eight years and was running a trading company. Monem and Li spent some time together in April 2013, hanging out and visiting the Canton Fair, the bustling biannual trade fair. Monem also took Li to the mosque where he prayed. One day, they went to a Sudanese restaurant close to Baohanzhi Street, where Li took many photographs.

After two months, Monem's stay came to an end. Li got the impression that while Monem's brother had brought him over to assist in his business, the young man did not do well enough. So he had to return home when his visa was about to expire.

"Probably because he was an introvert and unsocial, he was not good at business," Li explained. "He spent $1,600 coming to China to seek opportunities, but unfortunately, could get nothing and left disappointed."

During his days living with Africans in Baohanzhi Street, Li met and photographed many who had come to Guangzhou to do business. While some had realized their dreams, some, like Monem, spent months in and around Baohanzhi Street but then eventually disappeared. For the latter, pursuing their Chinese dreams in a foreign land was not as easy as they had first thought.

Portraying real China

One day, Li met some staff members from a Danish TV station who were also photographing Africans living in China. "From the perspective of Westerners, the attitude of a country or a society toward Africans often reflects its own culture and stage of development," Li said. "The Chinese are warm and friendly toward Africans as the Chinese culture has the tradition of hospitality."

While Li's photo exhibition tour will continue, he plans to shoot around themes showcasing China's modernization and internationalization. This is going to be his career. In his view, the Western mainstream media always project a distorted view of China, and their reports are often very subjective.

He gives an example. He bought a New York Times' photo collection titled Documenting the Decade. It did not have many images of China. Among the few there were a couple of photographs on the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. They were bleak images, depicting a gray sky and armed policemen.

"People in foreign countries see the images of China colored by the media's perspectives," he said. "I hope my photographs will help the public know the real China."