In search of an imagined China: International students’ motivations to study in the Global South

International student mobility (ISM) to China is an underexplored topic, especially as it relates to mobility emanating from the Global North. Between 2019 and 2020, we interviewed 25 international students originally from Europe, North and South America, and Oceania and, using thematic analysis, analysed their decisions to study in China. The results show that these young people’s international migration patterns were motivated by a strong desire to search for a sense of home, cultural adventure, personal growth, authenticity, and abundant opportunities in China. In this light, we argue that international students’ migration decision-making is intertwined with their imaginaries of and imaginative frames for China, which various agents formulate at the intersection of global, national, and local contexts. In the process, we reveal a geographical imaginary of ISM that has been overlooked in the existing literature.