2025

Yajie Chen

  • Doctoral Student
  • Indiana University Bloomington
Picture of Yajie Chen

Program

Luce/ACLS Travel Grants in China Studies

Project

Running for Life: Aspirations, Economies, and Place-Making of New Chinese Migrants in Ecuador

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

Migrants from the People’s Republic of China began to flood the US-Mexico border in 2022, most arriving after an arduous, months-long journey from Quito, Ecuador. Despite Ecuador’s end to visa-free status for PRC citizens in July 2024, which allowed for this migration, Quito remains a transit hub for urban, mobile, transnational Chinese migrants searching for a better place to live for themselves and their children. This project interrogates the meaning and significance of Chinese migrants' quests for “a better life” and their strategies for building a diasporic life while still en route to an indefinite destination.