Cultural homelessness: migrant children in China

China’s migrant population is huge, yet migrant families and their dilemmas are largely invisible in Chinese society. This research aims to bring these children and their difficulties into the light and also seeks to understand the experience of migrant children aged between 6 and 15 years old. By analysing 42 migrant children’s House-Tree-Person drawings and their dreams and dream drawings, we attempt to explore the psychological state of migrant children and the dilemmas they face both inside and outside the family. During the analysis process, we find that considering the images from a Jungian perspective can bring out insights and interpretations that are inaccessible using the House-Tree-Person approach alone. Their drawings and dreams showed some surprisingly varied characteristics according to age and city. Overall, the cultural homelessness of Chinese migrant children does not only refer to the entity of the home, but also implies the atmosphere, culture and all connections contained therein. Life dilemmas, which exist within families and society and are influenced by history and culture, have brought difficulties that are visible or have been shown in the mental health census, affecting the psychological development of migrant children. Practically, the findings of this research can help frontline workers better understand Chinese migrant children, thereby providing them with targeted support. They are also expected to have a positive impact on future policies and promote deeper exploration of the cultural complex of cultural homelessness in Chinese society.