"This rich and insightful book goes beyond the conventional state-centric narratives that dominate contemporary discussions on Sino-Gulf relations. It provides an in-depth look into the history of the Chinese diasporic community in Dubai, its dynamic cultural and religious life, and the “frontier mentality” it has cultivated in coping with a cosmopolitan yet alien Muslim environment. It contributes to our understanding of the human dimension underpinning China’s evolving footprint in the Middle East." – Mohammed Al-Sudairi, The University of Hong Kong & King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Saudi Arabia“Dr. Wang offers a landmark study of the Chinese community in Dubai. She gives us a clear and compelling insider's look into the lives of the Chinese in Dubai, who survive and thrive there with their "frontier mentality." This book is absolute required reading for anyone wishing to understand new Asian migration to the Global South.”– Carolyn Chen, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California at Berkeley"This is a clearly conceived, well organized, painstakingly researched, and carefully written work. The author pursues ideas that are seldom treated in great depth or at book length. Her approach is sensitive to the history of its main case, yet it is also thoroughly up-to-the-minute in its implications for diplomacy, policy, and planning. The ethnographic observations transport the reader in and through the lives of the Chinese minority in Dubai. Specialists in religion will be pleased to discover not one but two analyses of spiritual striving in the Chinese community. The first discusses the yearning among some Chinese migrants for religious meaning amid conditions of cultural dislocation and economic abundance, while the second examines the strategic social position of Chinese Muslims in Dubai as non-Arab co-religionists of the host Emiratis."– Kevin J. Christiano, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame“Yuting Wang’s path-breaking book enters a realm which, surprisingly, has seldom been touched upon before. China’s burgeoning engagement in the Global South is well-known, but the lived experience of those Chinese forming the human presence of that engagement has remained largely undocumented. Wang brings a radical end to this neglect. Her experience as part of the local Chinese community in Dubai adds a dimension of perception which few other academics can have. The book combines deep insight with objective and judicious assessment.”– Tim Niblock, Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University & Emeritus Professor at University of ExeterChinese in Dubai is a seminal study of the Chinese diaspora in Dubai, UAE. This book is a much-needed pioneering study that makes important contributions to global migration studies, urban sociology, and the sociology of religion. – Brandon Vaidyanathan, Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology at The Catholic University of America “This is the first scholarly study of the Chinese community in Dubai. It provides fascinating stories through ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews, and aptly situates them in social, political, cultural, and global contexts. The “frontier mentality” of the modern-day Chinese migrants in this global frontier, where the Muslim Middle East, the West, the Global South, and the Global East intersect, offers an intriguing interpretation of the social and spiritual life there. Readers may find resonances of meaning-making in a place of permanent impermanence. It is very readable and highly recommended.”– Fenggang Yang, Professor of Sociology & Director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society, Purdue University
