(Editor’s note: This article represents the views of the author Maïssa Benali Cherif and not necessarily those of CGTN.)
Established since the 19th century, Chinese communities in Madagascar have shaped entire aspects of the island’s urban culture and gastronomy. Their presence tells another story of Sino-African exchanges: more intimate, older, and deeply Malagasy.
According to the latest study published in 2011, the population of Chinese origin in Madagascar was estimated between 70,000 and 100,000 people. This community is composed of two distinct yet complementary dynamics. On one side, the Sinoa zanatany, settled since the French colonial era, deeply rooted in Malagasy society, speaking mostly local dialects and primarily established in the east and southeast of the island. On the other side, a new wave of post-colonial Chinese migrants, arriving more recently, mostly Mandarin-speaking, concentrated mainly in the capital, Antananarivo.
This coexistence of generations and trajectories is not accidental. It is the result of a long history, made of gradual migrations, silent adaptations, and lasting anchorage. To understand its depth, one must go back to the origins.
Historical Note – A discreet yet structuring settlement Since the late 19th century, the Chinese presence in Madagascar has been part of a discreet yet decisive history. The first documented arrivals date back to this period, when merchants from Guangdong settled along the coasts of the island, then a strategic crossroads of Indian Ocean routes.
While this modern settlement marked a turning point, some writings trace Sino-Malagasy contacts much earlier. Chinese archives mention Madagascar as early as the 13th century under the name K’un-lun-tsong-k’i, while Admiral Zheng He’s expeditions in the 15th century reached East Africa, suggesting ancient exchanges between Asia and the Indian Ocean.
At the end of the 1890s, the establishment of the French colonial administration accelerated migrations. Chinese artisans, traders, and workers settled around ports, notably in Tamatave, before moving to Antananarivo, where the first community nuclei were formed.
Throughout the 20th century, this presence ceased to be merely migratory and became generational. The Sinoa zanatany, born locally, integrated deeply into Malagasy society while preserving certain traditions. More recently, the creation of the Confucius Institute in Antananarivo in 2008 revived cultural and academic exchanges.
Behind current economic partnerships thus lies a human story of more than a century, made of continuities, transmissions, and plural identities.
Scheilly Tsilova, an identity between several worlds This plurality is reflected today in the individual paths of the new Sino-Malagasy generation. Among them, the story of Scheilly Tsilova finely illustrates the complexity and richness of these intertwined identities.
Born in Madagascar into a family of multiple origins, Scheilly Tsilova embodies an assumed plural identity. Sino-Malagasy, with Guatemalan roots and French academic training, she now lives in London, where she has just obtained her doctorate.
In an interview with CGTN, she shared that growing up in Madagascar with Chinese origins felt natural, given how old and integrated the Chinese community is there. Yet, her appearance and certain stereotypes nurtured from childhood an intimate questioning of her identity.
Her family history, marked by migrations between China, Central America, and Madagascar, reflects this inherited complexity. Raised in a multicultural environment where education played a central role, Scheilly learned very early to navigate between several languages and cultural codes. This constant movement between cultures, far from being a source of tension, became a resource.
Neither entirely Chinese nor fully Malagasy, she turned this in‑between into a strength. Her international journey led her to claim an identity in motion, where plurality becomes a space of freedom and dialogue.
Between memory and future Through the stories of Scheilly Tsilova, one clear truth emerges: there is no need to choose. These trajectories prove that both cultures can coexist, nourish each other, and project themselves together into the future. Carrying memories, migrations, and mixed heritage, the Sino‑Malagasy community thus appears as a living bridge between two worlds, capable of translating, softening, and connecting — far beyond economic or diplomatic discourse.
(Photo: VCG)