Haigui

Haigui (simplified Chinese: 海归; traditional Chinese: 海歸; pinyin: hǎiguī) is a Chinese language slang term for Chinese nationals who have returned to mainland China after having studied abroad.^[1] The term is a pun on the homophonic hǎiguī (simplified Chinese: 海龟; traditional Chinese: 海龜) meaning "sea turtle".

Graduates from foreign universities used to be highly sought out by employers in China. A 2017 study found that haigui are now less likely to receive a callback from potential employers compared to Chinese students with a Chinese degree.^[2] Possible causes of this reversal include the rising quality of Chinese education institutions and the high salary demands of haigui.^[3]

Over 800,000 recently graduated haigui returned to China in 2020, an increase of 70% from 2019, largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

Motivations

In 1950s, Sukarno government passed the Presidential Regulation 10 of 1959 which prohibits Chinese Indonesians into doing business in rural areas. The decision caused diplomatic tension between People's Republic of China and Indonesia and caused ambassador to Indonesia Huang Chen to urge Indonesian government to review the regulations. Toward the end of 1959, Peking Radio announced a campaign for ethnic Chinese to return to "The Warmth of Motherland". 199,000 Chinese Indonesians have said to applied for repatriation but only 102,000 people that have been repatriated.^[5]^[6]

In aftermath of 1967 anti-Chinese riots in Burma, tens of thousands of Chinese Burmese had left Burma for China due to safety concern among Chinese community staying in Burma.^[7]

Some haigui have returned to China due to the late-2000s recession in the U.S. and Europe.^[8] According to Chinese government statistics in 2019, 86.3% of the 6.5 million Chinese people who have gone abroad to study in the past 40 years have returned.^[9] According to the Higher Education Policy Institute, in 2023, 84% of Chinese graduates in the United Kingdom returned to China after finishing their studies.^[10]

Etymology and history

The word is a pun, as hai 海 means "ocean" and gui 龟; 龜 is a homophone of gui 归; 歸 meaning "to return". The name was first used by Ren Hong, a young man returning to China as a graduate of Yale University seven years after leaving aboard a tea freighter from Guangzhou to the United States.^[11]

Notable haigui

Sun Yat-Sen, first president of the Republic of China
Zhou Enlai, first premier and foreign minister of the People's Republic of China
Tang Xianhu, badminton player and coach
Deng Xiaoping, elder of the Chinese Communist Party
Qian Xuesen, father of the Chinese rocket program
Sutanto Djuhar, businessman

References

^ Fan, Cindy (March 7, 2010). "Materialism and Social Unrest". New York Times.
^ Fraiberg, S., Wang, X., & You, X. (2017). Inventing the world grant university: Chinese international students’ mobilities, literacies, and identities. Utah State University Press, An imprint of University Press of Colorado.
^ "Overseas Chinese Try to Build a Community in Homeland". China Daily.
^ China's overseas graduates return in record numbers into already crowded domestic job market He Huifeng, South China Morning Post , 21 September 2020
^ "Terusir dari Kampung Sendiri". Tempo (in Indonesian). 13–19 August 2007. pp. 96–97. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
^ (in Indonesian) Arsip. Majalah Tempo 24 November 1990 dimuat pada Majalah Tempo edisi 13-19 Agustus 2007.
^ Fan, Hongwei (June 2012). "The 1967 anti-Chinese riots in Burma and Sino–Burmese relations". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 43 (2): 234–256. doi:10.1017/S0022463412000045. ISSN 1474-0680. S2CID 159753249.
^ Zhou, Wanfeng (December 17, 2008). "China goes on the road to lure "sea turtles" home". Reuters.
^ "Statistics on Chinese learners studying overseas in 2019 - Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China". en.moe.gov.cn. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
^ Nulimaimaiti, Mia (5 July 2025). "Chinese graduates struggle to compete in harsh UK job market: 'it's harder for us'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
^ "Hai Gui: The Sea Turtles Come Marching Home". Asia Pacific Management Forum. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17.

External links

Schott's Vocabulary: Haigui New York Times January 12, 2009

[C._Cindy_Fan-1] Fan, Cindy (March 7, 2010). "Materialism and Social Unrest". New York Times.

[2] Fraiberg, S., Wang, X., & You, X. (2017). Inventing the world grant university: Chinese international students’ mobilities, literacies, and identities. Utah State University Press, An imprint of University Press of Colorado.

[China_Daily-3] "Overseas Chinese Try to Build a Community in Homeland". China Daily.

[4] China's overseas graduates return in record numbers into already crowded domestic job market He Huifeng, South China Morning Post , 21 September 2020

[5] "Terusir dari Kampung Sendiri". Tempo (in Indonesian). 13–19 August 2007. pp. 96–97. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2009.

[6] (in Indonesian) Arsip. Majalah Tempo 24 November 1990 dimuat pada Majalah Tempo edisi 13-19 Agustus 2007.

[7] Fan, Hongwei (June 2012). "The 1967 anti-Chinese riots in Burma and Sino–Burmese relations". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 43 (2): 234–256. doi:10.1017/S0022463412000045. ISSN 1474-0680. S2CID 159753249.

[lure_sea_turtles-8] Zhou, Wanfeng (December 17, 2008). "China goes on the road to lure "sea turtles" home". Reuters.

[9] "Statistics on Chinese learners studying overseas in 2019 - Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China". en.moe.gov.cn. Retrieved 2025-04-16.

[10] Nulimaimaiti, Mia (5 July 2025). "Chinese graduates struggle to compete in harsh UK job market: 'it's harder for us'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

[apm_forum-11] "Hai Gui: The Sea Turtles Come Marching Home". Asia Pacific Management Forum. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17.

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