Uyghur college students’ heterogeneous acculturation and related strategies in developed Eastern Chinese Cities

Abstract

This study examines the acculturation of Uyghur college students to a different culture in universities in developed eastern Chinese cities. This study recruited 12 Uyghur university students from Xinjiang who are studying in two elite universities in eastern China. Research shows that Uyghur students often experience acculturation issues in dietary habits, language, and courses and teaching. These acculturation dilemmas are mainly due to differences between colleges’ and universities’ overall cultural atmosphere in mainland China and Uyghur students’ customs and identity. This study finds that Uyghur students generally adopt two strategies—accommodation without assimilation and ambivalence—when reflecting on their living conditions and development while maintaining their steadfast ethnic identity.