本文采用第一手调研资料、通过长期实地调研,揭示广州"巧克力城"-中国的典型非洲人族裔经济区的发展历程与机制。研究揭示跨国商贸者跨越国界展开商贸活动,以族裔经济区为载体,进而推动地方重构的历史进程。研究表明:当代中国大城市的外国人"族裔经济区"的兴起与中国的"世界工厂"地位密切相关;非裔商人经由非洲到欧洲、北美、中亚、东南亚而后转入中国;在由全球到地方的多尺度社会、经济和政治力量影响下,"巧克力城"的演化已历经三个阶段:兴起期、繁盛期和衰退期,其社会空间也经历了"兴起中的族裔经济区"、"繁荣中的族裔经济区"和"衰退中的族裔经济区"等三种形态,体现当代全球要素与地方要素互动的即时性与不稳定性。

The rise of foreign communities in China attracts high attentions during last years. A growing number of literature have shed light upon these groups through the lens of economic globalization, social transition, foreigner gated communities, and so on. Nevertheless, a majority of the studies focus on transnational migrants from developed counties such as the US or the UK, far less are known about these coming from developing or under-developed counties. Among them, the booming of China-Africa relations has been so prominent that Africans in China attracted particular attentions and gained a fever of media notice. Using first-hand data collected from long-term fieldwork during last five years, this study examines the making of urban China's typical African economic enclave in Guangzhou, the so-called ‘Chocolate City’. It discloses the route transnational traders move across national borders to practice business, making ethnic economic enclave and reshaping local communities. Depending on the social network of Africans, the impacts of ‘Chocolate City’ already extended across China, covering 20 provinces, 45 cities, and so on. Against the impacts of global forces and local governments, the making of Chocolate city has been found to be transient, transforming from the rising enclave to the prosperous enclave, and to the declining enclave. And the impacts of local states upon glocalization should be further highlighted. This study contributes to the literature of globalization theory by interrogating its feature of transient, mobility and flexibility. In addition, it provides the first in-depth analysis to delineate recent history of the Chocolate City's place-making.