We might have heard countless stories of how Chinese migrants arrive to Britain. Leaving behind a land they know into a city where people speak a different language. Some struggle in the midst of juggling between finding work and paying bills, battling discrimination while trying to hold on to their Chinese identity. To Ellen Wang, this was all too true. 

 

As a single child in Beijing, she always felt that she was sheltered and there was pressure to become a high achiever. An opportunity came when she was in school, for an exchange program to the United States. That program fell through but Ellen Wang had suddenly been exposed to the possibility of traveling abroad, to experience a different education and way of life. She continued to pursue her newfound dream and finally scored a place in a college in Widnes, Liverpool. 

 

At a tender age of 15, and only knew one world in which she had lived with her parents and been well provided for, she took a step of courage to come to Britain alone. That was 1997, the same year that Hong Kong was reclaimed by the Republic of China. 

 

“My dad was very traditional-minded and wanted me to stay behind, so there was a sort of battle between him and my mom,” Miss Wang recalls. In the end they both supported her choice, on the condition that they only financed her tuition fees. 

 

She had a faraway look in her eyes, as she continued her story. “Once I got to the small town, Widnes, I started working at the only family-run Chinese restaurant there to earn my keep.” Things were tough, but she wanted to prove herself. 

 

“I remember the very first week of getting my wage, I spent it on a pair of shoes which I’ve kept ten years into my life in the UK,” says Ellen Wang with a slight laughter. “I refused to throw it away because I worked so hard for it.” 

 

Things didn’t really work out for her in Liverpool, so she moved to Leeds when she got a place in the University of Leeds. She had a few friends from Beijing who were there as well, which made it that much easier to cope. However, she was still stuck in working for Chinese restaurants and takeaways. 

 

“It wasn’t about making friends at university or having fun, but for me it was about finding employment to support myself,” Miss Wang says. It was during her encounter with the Chinese businesses in Leeds that she realised there was a divide between the migrants from Southern and Northern China. 

 

She took a deep sigh as she explains, “There was a division. Firstly because they didn’t speak Mandarin and I spoke no Cantonese. We also have different customs.” Miss Wang ended up having to communicate to them in whatever English both parties could understand. It felt like a second culture shock to her. 

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“Later on, I realised that I was worth more than being stuck in Chinese takeaways and restaurants after a placement year in an English company,” she adds. “I told myself, the next time I enter a Chinese restaurant will be as a customer.” She never looked back since, and went on to work in marketing, sales, HR and much more. In a sense, she had shut out the part of her that was Chinese, as she tried very hard to be as “British” as possible. 

 

Miss Wang had a turning point in her late twenties when she landed a job in the Leeds Business Confucius Institute, finding out that she could benefit others and herself with the knowledge she had of China and its language. 

 

“I was so far away from my background and the community. Regardless, I had a very Chinese looking face and my roots,” she says with a passionate voice. She didn’t have to be one or the other, “I didn’t have to choose between China and the UK, I could merge it into one and make it my specialty and strength.” 

 

“I actually am a Chinese migrant who is a British citizen, and I’m proud of that. I’m proud to be from a multicultural background,” beams Miss Wang. 

 

Fully accepting of her British Chinese identity, she now works with Chinese students, the community in Leeds, as well as being a mentor for the Intercultural Ambassador program.