Liquid identities: Han sojourners in Tibet

This article presents an ethnographic account of the liquid identities of Zangpiaos (Han drifters or sojourners in Tibet). The study reveals that in the liminal time and space of their sojourning, Zangpiaos have developed explicit identities and implicit identification associated with multi-level structures and complex social processes. The liminality of Zangpiaos offers fresh insights into the ambiguous identity paradox that this alternative subgroup of Han majority have encountered in the modern mobile society characterized by plural and liquid identities. The study sheds light on mobile people's identities and social relationships through an ethnographic inquiry into long-term tourist experiences in a mobile age. •Zangpiaos are Han sojourners in Tibet in-between tourists and lifestyle migrants.•The ethnography accounts for Zangpiaos' liquid identities and social relationships.•A tourism perspective sheds light on identities, modernity and mobilities.•Its field research integrates mobile tourist ethnography with traditional approaches.