Previous investigations on the complex process of identity construction in the transnational social field have shown to be relevant worldwide, characterised by increasing globalisation (Valentin, 2014). When compared to other countries, China has been actively participating in the process of transnational education (British Council, 2017). While aspiring to be a powerhouse in higher education provision, there seems to be a tension between such an interest in interenationalising education and the Chinese cultural agenda, with a generational anxiety in relation to the possibility of losing"Chineseness" through a fast-paced process of gaining position in the international educational space (Li et al., 2014). Engaging with these discourses, this study explores how Chinese students construct their cultural identities in a transnational university in China, and which factors such as ethinicity, language and staff, for instance, would impact their perceptions of identity and how. Informed by an analysis of 31 semi-structured interviews of Chinese students, including an arts-based activity, under a critical realist paradigm grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study expects to inform relationships between local and international socialisation and local cultural needs and issues for future teaching policies and practices. It also offers a unique look into Chinese students in transnational spaces, where intercultural interactions occur and identities are (re)shaped.