( By Liu Bing)

Millions of overseas Chinese are flocking home in a marked reversal of the outgoing flow of the last thirty years.

It isn't just China's flourishing economy that is bringing them home, however. It is something much deeper, their yearning for closer social and cultural ties. Let's take a look at some of their stories.

 "I feel more connected to China, and there are a lot things I can do here, It might be a cliché but I want to contribute my talent, or whatever I can, to China."

"We generally have a lot more things to miss about China than things to miss about the States."

" I think everyone has an idea of what home means - and I consider China my home."

It's said studying aboard is the first step toward future emigration, and this especially applies to the U.S.

Alex Fan has certainly given the U.S a good chance. He first went there as a high school student, then graduated in biology and political science from Yale, and is now studying law at Harvard.

His reasoning was the same as for many other Chinese students, to pursue a better education.

"My initial plan was to emigrate to the U.S and live there for the rest of my life because I thought the quality of life was much better than here. But now I realize there are great opportunities in China, too. As a Chinese, I've come to see that I can get opportunities and be successful here, so I've changed my mind and decided to come back after law school."

Alex says there are good reasons for his change of mind. Despite the western media's tendency to focus on the negative aspects of life here, many graduates still choose to return, lured back by China's great potential.

"Since this country is experiencing enormous economic growth, the advantage of living in the States may not be that obvious. Maybe 20 years ago, the States had a stronger attraction for Chinese but now the gap is narrowing."

There are also those who have ventured overseas but had a clear plan they would always return home. Larry Zhang, also a would-be lawyer, graduated from Renmin University of China as an economics major and now studies at Fordham Law School in New York, he is currently doing his internship in Beijing.

" I still remember that when I decided go to the States five years ago, my initial plan was to come back in 5 years, so I did. I came back this summer - I kept my promise.

Larry is also an officer at the Chinese Business Lawyers Association (CBLA), a New York non-profit organization for legal professionals interested in China. According to him, many of CBLA's members have recently elected to practice law in China.

Apart from being attracted by China's economic growth, there are other, more subtle, reasons for overseas graduates returning home. Wang Xiaobei from University of Michigan has studied in the U.S. for 10 years and is well-known for his blog about life as a Chinese student there. He had a good job in New York and traveled widely around the States but came back six months ago. He has settled down in Beijing, working in one of the world's biggest law firms.

"My other reason for coming back was to further my career. I worked in New York for a year and a half. The more deals I saw, the stronger my desire became to come back. A lot of them involved major national corporations, who were doing deals in Europe and Latin America. I didn't get the chance to work on any Asian or Chinese business but during the last six months I've worked here in the Beijing office, I've been able to work on many deals I care deeply about. I work for clients that are also Chinese. I care much more about the things I'm working on now than I did before."

Back then, just as his wife was about to resign from her prestigious bank job in the States, it offered her a suitable position in its Beijing office. The couple and their two children have quickly settled into life in the CBD. Xiaobei often has to work overtime but he is quite content because he is passionate about his job.