London Chinatown’s evolution from Hong Kong Chinese outpost to multicultural melting pot
Early Chinatown was a place of restaurants, underground gambling dens and brothels, but it has grown more affluent and diverse over time
Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West. In a series of articles, the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them.
Although Chinatown in Central London was not the first Chinese settlement in Britain, today it is known as one of the best kept in the world.
Its story over the past two centuries is full of twists and turns. In the early to mid-1800s, Europe’s oldest Chinese community formed as seafarers settled in the major English port city of Liverpool. Most lodged in temporary boarding houses, but some decided to stay, forming a small Chinese enclave in the 1850s.
As these Chinese men put down roots over the decades that followed, xenophobia grew. They were still considered alien by the majority of society, and Chinatowns became known around the world for slum housing and opium and gambling dens.
