Chinatown facts for kids
Chinatown is the name used for neighborhood in any city outside of China where many Chinese immigrants came to live together. Chinatowns became common in cities around the world after China lost the first Opium War with the British Empire. After China lost, many Chinese people became poor, especially people living in Guangdong province. That was where most of the fighting took place. People from Guangdong went outside of China to look for work. They moved to places like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States. When Chinese people moved to these places, they usually lived close together in the city they were staying. These became Chinatowns.
Famous Chinatowns around the world include those in San Francisco, New York City, and Kuala Lumpur.
Most early immigrants came from provinces of Guangdong and Fujian in southeastern China. The common languages there are Toishanese, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, and Hokkien. So, these are common languages in many Chinatowns. Also, since most Chinatowns were created before the Chinese Communist Party took over mainland China, most Chinatowns use traditional Chinese characters. However, both simplified and traditional characters are often seen in Chinatowns in Malaysia.
Images for kids
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The Chinese New Year celebrated in Chinatown, Kolkata
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Chinese seamen established one of the earliest Chinatowns around the docks in Liverpool in the mid-19th century.
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Headquarters of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Chinatown, San Francisco.
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Sign inside Jefferson Station in Philadelphia pointing to "Chinatown"
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Street scene of the Chinatown in Cyrildene, Johannesburg
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Hoian Settlement Pattern, Vietnam, 1991.
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Pengchau Settlement Pattern, Hong Kong, 1991.
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Chinese Settlement in Georgetown, Malaysia, 1991.
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Chinese Settlement in Kuching, Malaysia, 1991.
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Tin Hau (Goddess of Sea) Temple in Kuching, Malaysia, 1991.
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To Di Gong (Land God) Temple at Kuching, 1991.
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Manhattan's Chinatown, the largest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere and one of nine Chinatown neighborhoods in New York City, as well as one of twelve in the surrounding New York metropolitan area.
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Chinatown, San Francisco, the oldest Chinatown in the US
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Liverpool's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in Europe
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Chinatown, Philadelphia, the recipient of significant Chinese immigration from both New York City and China
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Entrance to Chinatown, Sydney
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Paifang in Philadelphia
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Paifang in Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Chinatown, Boston looking towards the paifang
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Chinese Garden of Friendship, part of Sydney Chinatown
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Chinese stone lions at the Chinatown gate in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Harbin Gates in Chinatown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Millennium Gate on Pender Street in Chinatown of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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The Chinese Cultural Center of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Chinese Temple in Yokohama Chinatown, Japan.
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San Francisco's Chinatown
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Portland, Oregon's Chinatown
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Arch honors Chinese-Mexican community of Mexico City, built in 2008, Articulo 123 Street
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Yokohama Chinatown's Goodwill Gate in Japan
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Kan Yin Temple (Kwan Yin Si), a place of worship for Burmese Chinese in Bago, also serves as a Mandarin school
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Kya-Kya or Kembang Jepun, Surabaya's Chinatown, one of oldest Chinatown in Indonesia
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Chinese New Year celebrated in Chinatown, Kolkata, India.
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Paifang at Sydney Chinatown
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Paifang at Bendigo Chinese Precinct
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Adelaide Chinatown
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Melbourne Chinatown entrance at Little Bourke Street
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Map of Chinatown Milan
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Gate of Chinatown, Liverpool England, is the largest multiple-span arch outside of China, in the oldest Chinese community in Europe
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Wardour Street, Chinatown, London
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Chinese Quarter in Birmingham, England
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