CNN's travel site, CNNGo, recently published an article titled "World's Best Chinatowns."
There is a Chinatown in almost every major city in the world, and such is the huge footprint of overseas Chinese. CNN's travel site, CNNGo, recently published an article titled "World's Best Chinatowns." The following are some of the best Chinatowns in the world, according to CNNGo. Havana, Cuba – Havana's Chinatown is called "Barrio Chino" in Spanish by locals. It was started by coolies brought in from Guangdong in the 1840s to work on the sugar plantations, and was once Latin America's largest Chinatown. There are about 150 native Cuban Chinese left in Havana. Kolkata, India – Many Chinese people, predominately from South China, fled early 19th-century war and famine in their homeland, and found their way to Kolkata. There are still some Taoist temples in the city, and Chinese food is the most popular cuisine there. Bangkok, Thailand – At night, Bangkok's Chinatown resembles Hong Kong in 1960s. The main attraction is the food. One of the easiest ways to enjoy it is to sign up for a tour with Bangkok Food Tours' Chinatown Foodie Walk. Manila, Philippines – Binondo in Manila is the world's oldest Chinatown, established in the 1590s by the Spanish colonists as a settlement for Catholic Chinese. One can find some of the best Chinese food there. Johannesburg, South Africa – Transvaal was found in the 1880s to lay the largest deposits of gold in the world, which attracted many Chinese gold diggers. Johannesburg is actually home to two Chinatowns. Most residents of the Chinatown in the suburbs are recent Mandarin-speaking immigrants. A growing number of Chinese people have moved to South Africa either for work or study in recent years. One can find authentic Shanghainese and Sichuan food in the city. Melbourne, Australia – The first batch of Chinese migrants went there mainly due to gold rush. Beginning in 1851, ships laden with gold diggers began to set sail from Hong Kong for Melbourne. Today, the historic three-story brick buildings in Melbourne's Chinatown remain home to various Chinese restaurants, groceries, and herbal medicine shops. It holds the world's largest dragon boat race every year. Vancouver, Canada – Chinese people account for nearly 50 percent of the residents of Richmond, modern-day Chinatown in Vancouver. In recent years, a reverse brain drain has seen Canadian-born Chinese moving back to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in search of better job opportunities. San Francisco, United States – After more than 150 years in San Francisco, Chinese have become an integral part of the rich fabric of the city. In the late 1880s, San Francisco's Chinatown was the city's sleaziest area, and was best known for authentic Cantonese food. London, England – London is home to Europe's largest Chinatown, which attracts 300,000 people for the Lunar New Year celebrations every year. The Chinese community in the city is mainly made up of migrants from Hong Kong. Attracted by cheap rents and short leases on offer, many of them have opened restaurants, teahouses, Chinese medicine clinics, and supermarkets in the city. Source: China.org.cn
