As evidenced by all the Chinatowns dotted around the globe, over the centuries China has seen many of its people seek new lives in other parts of the world. And from about 1400, Southeast Asia was especially popular for Chinese emigrants who had a yearning for foreign shores.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, tens of thousands of Chinese men made their way to various parts of the tropics seeking economic opportunities. But because an imperial decree at the time forbade them to take Chinese women with them, these immigrants, far from home, often married local women once they had settled.

In time, these mixed-blood marriages spawned a hybrid ethnicity, called Peranakan, that are also referred to as Baba-Nyonya.