Everything about Chinatown London totally explained
The name
Chinatown has been used at different times to describe different places in
London. The city's present Chinatown is in the
Soho area of the
City of Westminster, occupying the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants,
bakeries, supermarkets, souvenir shops, and other Chinese-run businesses.
History
The first area in London known as Chinatown was located in the
Limehouse area of London. At the start of the 20th century, the Chinese population of London was concentrated in that area, setting up businesses which catered to the Chinese sailors who frequented in
Docklands. The area began to become known through exaggerated reports and tales of (legal)
opium dens and
slum housing, rather than the Chinese restaurants and supermarkets in the current Chinatown. However, much of the area was damaged by aerial bombing during
the Blitz in the Second World War, although a number of elderly Chinese still choose to live in this area.
After the
Second World War, however, the growing popularity of
Chinese cuisine and an influx of immigrants from
Hong Kong led to an increasing number of Chinese restaurants being opened elsewhere.
The present Chinatown, off
Shaftesbury Avenue in London, didn't start to be established until the 1970s. Up until then, it was a regular Soho area, run-down, with Gerrard Street the main thoroughfare. It was dominated by the Post Office, facing Macclesfield Street, and other major establishments were The Tailor & Cutter House, at 43/44, now a Chinese supermarket and restaurant, the Boulougne Restaurant, near the Wardour Street end, and by Peter Mario's Restaurant at the other end. Other businesses included a master baker's, the Sari Centre, Lesgrain French Coffee House, an Indian restaurant and lots of doorways offering French Lessons and suchlike. Probably the first Chinese restaurants opened in Lisle Street, parallel to Gerrard St, and then spread gradually. The Tailor & Cutter didn't close down until around 1974.
In 2005, the property developer
Rosewheel proposed a plan to redevelop the eastern part of Chinatown. The plan was opposed by many of the existing retailers in Chinatown, as they believe that the redevelopment will drive out the traditional Chinese retail stores from the area and change the ethnic characteristic of Chinatown.
Residents
London's Chinatown is a commercial area; very few people actually live there.
There are repeated claims that there are many illegal workers in London's Chinatown earning less than minimum wage. This illegal trade has association with the
Triads, highlighted by a shooting in broad daylight in June 2003 in the Bar Room Bar (brb) on Gerrard Street. Fortunately, these events don't happen very often and indeed Chinatown is a relatively safe area of London. There are
City Guardians walking on the streets in Chinatown all the time.
Gerrard Street
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club started in Gerrard street in the basement of No. 39.
Samuel Johnson and
Joshua Reynolds met at the Turk's Head Tavern to found
The Club dining club in 1764. The site is commemorated by a plaque at No. 9.
Education
» For education in Chinatown, London see the main City of Westminster article.
Transport
Nearest stations
Further Information
Get more info on 'Chinatown London'.
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