Information About Chinatown London
Introduction to Chinatowns
A Chinatown is an area of a non-Chinese town where the majority or the living or working population is of Chinese ethnicity. There are Chinatowns located all over the UK, many of which will be located in or near close cities such as London or Manchester.
There are 8 major Chinatowns in the UK and many more situated throughout the world in Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and South East Asia. Each Chinatown will have a unique name which will be based on aspects which are relevant to the local area.
China Towns in the UK
- London
- Manchester
- Birmingham
- Newcastle
- Liverpool
- Sheffield
- Leeds
- Glasgow
Often Chinatowns will have bold architecture to show what it is such as an archway painted red and gold or statues of lions or dragons. One of the purposes of a Chinatown is to embrace the culture and share it with those that are less familiar. Chinatowns are increasingly popular with tourists, offering a unique market not found in average UK towns.
Attracting tourists creates more business for the shops that operate in Chinatowns and is therefore better economically. However, the problem with the attraction is that many people will criticise commercialising what once was a place full of culture and history. The original purpose of Chinatowns was for people that were not of Chinese ethnicity to understand the Chinese culture, whereas in the modern day it is more common for the population to ignore the culture and focus on the shops or cuisine.
Chinese New Year
Although the Chinese new year is a cultural celebration it is also celebrated by many that are not part of that culture. In the UK over 500,000 people will celebrate the occasion in London Chinatown's Trafalgar Square. This festival is for over a third of the world's population and is celebrated by a greater number of people than that.