The presence of Buddhism in Africa has sparked discussions about the influence of Chinese cultural or “soft” power on the continent. The PI has conducted ethnographic research on Chinese Buddhism in southern Africa since 2021 by working as a volunteer in a Taiwanese/Chinese Buddhist NGO in its Namibian and Madagascan campuses. As the project has evolved, it has been evident that Chinese Buddhism has been accepted more easily in Madagascar than in other countries on the continent, where reportedly an anti-Chinese ethos is growing. Recently, over eighty Chinese Buddhist monks and nuns from China were relocated to the country and received permission to build a large Buddhist monastery in its capital city. What makes Madagascar different? Are the reasons cultural, political, historical, ethnical (racial), or something else? As part of a larger project on Chinese Buddhism in Africa, the PI plans to examine this observably distinctive “Madagascan difference” in receptivity to Buddhism and China in general. The PI proposes a thirty-day preliminary field trip to Madagascar for initial data collection and network-building while seek collaborative opportunities, for example, hosting workshops or conferences at UChicago’s Center in Paris in the future.