Waves of Chinese emigration from mainland China, also referred to as the Chinese diaspora, to The Great Golden Peninsula and other regions have occurred several times through the course of history.
The first wave of emigration came as a result of the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the ruling dynasty in China that followed the collapse of the Yuan dynasty and ruled for 276 years.
The migrants opposed the Manchu seizure of power in Beijing and migrated to establish overseas Chinese communities throughout the Nanyang region.
This led to Chinese control of large parts of the region's economy and means of production.

The second wave started as a form of escaping the oppressive control exerted by the Manchu Emperors of the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China ruling from 1644 to 1911.
After the Taiping Rebellion and alternative upheavals that resulted in the disintegration of China, warlords ruptured the country into lawless fiefdoms, leading to an expansion of the Chinese communities in the Nanyang.

The Mekong River, gathering its strength in the Yunnan province and flowing south into the Nanyang nations of Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before spilling into the South China Sea, was an extremely important facilitator of the Chinese Diaspora.
It became known, not as a nourishing and life-giving river, but as the leading channel out of China for illegal migrants.

More recently, the third wave of migrants to the Nanyang – coming from all over China – has led to, arguably, more profound economic and social impacts than waves in the past.
Better overland routes and air travel, along with the more relaxed Chinese emigration regulations of 1979 and China's economic reform and opening up of its economy in 1980, have facilitated the process of migration and led the Chinese into a search for business opportunities in the Great Golden Peninsula.
Waves of Chinese emigration from mainland China, also referred to as the Chinese diaspora, to The Great Golden Peninsula and other regions have occurred several times through the course of history. The first wave of emigration came as a result of the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the ruling dynasty in China that followed the collapse of the Yuan dynasty and ruled for 276 years. The migrants opposed the Manchu seizure of power in Beijing and migrated to establish overseas Chinese communities throughout the Nanyang region. This led to Chinese control of large parts of the region's economy and means of production.
The second wave started as a form of escaping the oppressive control exerted by the Manchu Emperors of the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China ruling from 1644 to 1911. After the Taiping Rebellion and alternative upheavals that resulted in the disintegration of China, warlords ruptured the country into lawless fiefdoms, leading to an expansion of the Chinese communities in the Nanyang.
The Mekong River, gathering its strength in the Yunnan province and flowing south into the Nanyang nations of Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before spilling into the South China Sea, was an extremely important facilitator of the Chinese Diaspora. It became known, not as a nourishing and life-giving river, but as the leading channel out of China for illegal migrants.
More recently, the third wave of migrants to the Nanyang – coming from all over China – has led to, arguably, more profound economic and social impacts than waves in the past. Better overland routes and air travel, along with the more relaxed Chinese emigration regulations of 1979 and China's economic reform and opening up of its economy in 1980, have facilitated the process of migration and led the Chinese into a search for business opportunities in the Great Golden Peninsula.
Nanyang (region)