Chinatown, Brisbane facts for kids
Chinatown is a special area in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. It is famous for its main street, Chinatown Mall, which is a street only for people walking. This mall connects Wickham Street and Ann Street. Chinatown is a lively place with many Chinese restaurants and shops. It also hosts exciting events like Chinese New Year and Valley Fiesta. You will notice that street signs here are written in both English and Chinese.
Besides Chinese food, you can find Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants here. It is a place where many Asian cultures come together. For example, it even hosts the annual Indian festival, Diwali. In recent years, many Chinese Australians in Brisbane now prefer to visit Sunnybank for Chinese culture.
History of Chinatown Mall
Chinatown Mall was officially opened on January 29, 1987. The Lord Mayor at the time, Sallyanne Atkinson, opened it on the first day of the Year of the Rabbit. Architects and engineers from Guangzhou, China, designed the Mall. They wanted it to look like buildings from the ancient Tang period in China.
Filming in Chinatown
In 1995, a part of the movie Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996) was filmed in the Mall. The movie scene included a car chase and an explosion. During the filming, the Mall's special pagoda building was destroyed. But don't worry, it was rebuilt later!
Chinatown Mall Renovation
The Brisbane City Council started a big renovation project for Chinatown Mall in 2009. The company Urbis designed this project. It cost $8,000,000 to complete. The Mall was supposed to be finished by September 2009. However, there were some delays. It finally reopened to the public on February 14, 2010.
