Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the fast-growth of the south to south higher education mobility of African students in China since 1999. We aim to explore the cultural, ethical and continental identity reshaping and maintaining process，especially focus on the function of the digital space on such process.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on the fast-growth of the south to south higher education mobility of African students in China since 1999. We aim to explore the cultural, ethical and continental identity reshaping and maintaining process，especially focus on the function of the digital space on such process. As the digital space in China is divided from outside by the Great Fire Wall set by the government, African students need to install a VPN on their devices to get access to use digital space which their family and friends used back in their country of origin. This research will investigate within the dynamic interaction between migration networks across the digital space border divided by the Great Fire Wall of China; as well as the dynamic interaction between the online migration social networks and traditional face-to-face migration networks with the African students' perspective from inside of China. The research uses social network analysis based on data from in-depth interviews and digital ethnography. The result shows that based on the evolving online and offline African student migrant community within social network digital space inside and outside the border of the Great Fire Wall of China, the African student reshaping their identity into Pan-African and global student mobility identity, as well as maintaining their culturally, ethically and nationally unique identity overtime under the power distribution from their country and culture of origin as well as facilitating the integration of the African student into the local Chinese community both online and offline.