As Xi meets Modi, Chennai’s Chinese community hope to witness the ‘Wuhan spirit’

For the past seven decades, the southern Indian city has been home to some 15 ethnic Chinese families, whose forebears fled during China’s civil war

As the second informal Xi-Modi meeting takes place amid strained bilateral relations, the community is hopeful for an outcome that will help bridge cultural ties

4-MIN READ4-MIN

A few members of Chennai’s ethnic Chinese community pictured at the home of David Ma, extreme right. Photo: Kunal Purohit

Published: 10:00am, 12 Oct 2019Updated: 4:55pm, 16 Oct 2019

As a boy growing up in India, David Ma listened to stories about his grandmother braving a crackdown by communist militias and fleeing Wuhan, China. Reaching what was then called Burma, she walked for days to its shores, before taking a boat to the southern Indian city of Chennai.

For Ma, Wuhan has remained a place from where his family had to escape.

Which is why when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on Saturday to invoke the conciliatory “Wuhan spirit”, 50-year-old Ma will be watching closely.

He is among dozens of people in Chennai who trace their origins to Chinese lands, but have made Chennai – the city where the second informal Xi-Modi summit is taking place – their home for the past seven decades.

Despite being around for years, their existence remains a little-known secret in the bustling city of over seven million people.

While the Indian establishment has been showcasing the ancient Chinese links that Mamallapuram and Chennai share, these families have a more current link to China and Wuhan in particular.