Historical Image of Overseas Chinese of the Xijiang River Basin in Guangdong Province

This work attempts to analyze the migration trajectory of the overseas communities in Xijiang River Basin in Guangdong Province based on the county historical materials. Results show that villagers in this area moved abroad as far back as in the Ming dynasty, but mass migration occurred after the mid-19th century, which was subject to the natural, social, political and economic conditions of both societies of origin and target. Early immigrants could be divided into free choice migration and “indentured labors”, they all lived by the sweat of their brow. Sihui, Gaoyao and Sanshui were the three key Qiaoxiang in this region, however, there were significant differences in the migration directions. The people of Sihui and Sanshui took the Malay Peninsula as their resettlement destination, Gaoyao villagers tended to immigrate to Australia, this was related to the migration network constructing by the transnational flow of local people. The network was a part of the important social capital, maintaining the continuation of emigration flow. To some extent, the weakening of transnational practice has led to the “decline” of Qiaoxiang in the Xijiang River Basin.