Forget the tourist lists — this is where the community actually eats. Xiaobei (exit Line 5, look for the pedestrian overpass) is still the beating heart, an area where Africans can be found speaking Arabic, Bambara, French, Portuguese, Lingala, Malagasy, Yoruba or Igbo. For grilled fish and cheap suds, regulars head to Moustache Bar — a popular hangout amongst African expats and...
Most Africans arrive in China and start off in survival mode. Finding a place to sleep. Figuring out visas. Taking whatever small job comes first. Trying to understand a system that moves faster than anything they’ve seen before.
It’s a normal beginning — but it shouldn’t be a permanent lifestyle. The turning point comes when you shift from surviving day-to-day to...
Hafrik: The Digital Home for Foreigners in China
A community-driven platform helping foreigners in China connect, thrive, and build bridges with Chinese society.
What Is Hafrik?
Hafrik is a lifestyle, business, and community platform designed specifically for foreigners living in China. Life in a new country comes with challenges — from language barriers to finding trusted services...
If you have ever stepped off the metro at Xiaobei station and walked up into the open air, you already know the feeling. The smell of grilled suya mixing with fresh bread from a Yemeni bakery, Lingala and Wolof and Arabic all bouncing off each other in the same five metres of pavement, a Nigerian aunty haggling over the price of stockfish while a Guinean trader counts out yuan for a bag of...
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