*Smell, touch and feel* Sanyuanli, Guangdong, China

Written by Principal Investigator Dr. Tommy Tse

Photography by 瑩菲 Faye

Coming back to Guangzhou this summer brings a whole new experience to me. The weather is hot, and the Africans are back. Along our way to the different trading sites in Sanyuanli, we open all our senses to remap the contours of Chinese-African everyday fashion.

Quietly yet proudly, a troop of plus-size mannequins inside these trading markets flaunt the newest items to draw the African traders’ fleeting attention. Carrying big and small black plastic bags, these traders shuttle through a maze of stair cases and corridors to locate the best-sellers - the stylish tights and dresses, denim jeans, glitzy sneakers, high-heels and accessories. I touch many fabrics: satin, organza, ponte-de-roma, embroidery, ankara, and Vlisco wax hollandais - just to listen to their “silent” voices.

The wholesalers are highly guarded, as they often see us as the spies from other competing stores: “Where are you from? What do you want? No photo-taking!” Sometimes, they simply close their store-front curtains (a new invention in recent years to protect their designs, or to keep their clients away from the competitors). When we draw too much attention as a group, we disperse or converse in English (to sound more like foreign traders) to ease the tension.

Later on, when Target - a Nigerian trader who only arrived in Guangzhou for a few days has agreed to show us around, unexpectedly makes our “walkthrough” ethnography easier. Sellers start exchanging smiles with us and handing over their product catalogues. They allow us to take some pictures again, hoping that it will bring bulk orders from their biggest international market thousands’ miles away (one wholesaler tells us: up to 95% of his current clients are from Africa). Here and there, Target fist-bumps his fellow African “bros” and high-fives the Chinese wholesaler-friends like a famed celebrity. He also swiftly replies dozens of WhatsApp/WeChat messages one by one with his tweeting fingers. He even jokingly teases the real hair of one mid-aged Chinese reseller - whom he calls “mama” - as a very authentic wig.