Chinese Labourers
Photograph by John Thomson
In the mid-19th century, each year a large
number of labourers from Shantou and nearby regions left their
homes to work on plantations in Cochin China (Vietnam), Siam
(Thailand) and the Straits of Malacca. Chinese labourers were much
in demand in South-east Asia because of their willingness to
undertake the hardest work. For these economic migrants, the main
attraction of working abroad was the pay. At two or three dollars a
month, their earnings were much higher than what they could receive
back home. After having saved enough money, many would return home
and buy a plot of land.