He's a young African boy alone in a southern Chinese city, but he is not at all lonely. He hopes to have a better future in China as a soccer player, the fifth grader tells Xu Jingxi in Guangzhou.

The goal post is made with four plastic water bottles, and the makeshift soccer field is rowdy with a group of children, aged about 11 to 12 years old. Most are sporting the bright red jerseys of Guangzhou Evergrande, the city's soccer team.

In the glowing dusk on a recent Sunday, a young African boy stands out from the crowd. Exaule Ngolo Serge is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and like his young teammates, he, too, dreams of becoming a professional player in China when he grows up.