There are many distinctive Chinatowns around the world, such as San Francisco Chinatown, London Chinatown, Melbourne Chinatown, Yokohama Chinatown in Japan, Singapore Chinatown, Bangkok Chinatown in Thailand, Cichang Street in Kuala Lumpur, Juncker Street in Malacca, Georgetown Chinatown in the United States, Penang Chinatown, New York Chinatown in the United States, and Paris Chinatown in France. Countless stories have happened in every Chinatown, silently witnessing the struggle history of overseas Chinese.

San Francisco Chinatown 1

San Francisco Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in the western United States. /kloc-In the middle of the 9th century, a large number of China gold diggers crossed the ocean to San Francisco and settled here. After many storms and hardships, they built today's Chinatown in San Francisco.

1906, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area, causing a fire, which spread throughout the city and left Chinatown in ruins. However, after the disaster, the Chinese returned to the original site to rebuild Chinatown one year ahead of the reconstruction of San Francisco.

Today, San Francisco Chinatown has become one of the most famous Chinatowns in the world. Everything written and heard here is in Chinese, and everything you see is very traditional in China. Chinatown not only has all the goods from China, from groceries to precious jewels, but also retains the traditional catering and architectural clothing, so visitors can enjoy the rich and colorful China culture as much as possible.

2. Chinatown in London

London Chinatown in Westminster is one of the most traditional Chinatowns in China.

Since the 1950s and 1960s, many overseas Chinese have been engaged in catering-related industries locally, and then took their relatives to take root in London. London Chinatown has developed from a "dining street" to a diversified living community, with not only Chinese barbershops, beauty salons and libraries, but also Chinese supermarkets and travel agencies, forming a complete small-scale economic industrial chain for Chinese.

With the rapid development of London Chinatown, in the1980s, pavilions, archways and other buildings with traditional Chinese colors appeared one after another, making London Chinatown more and more China.

In addition to the ancient buildings with China characteristics, on New Year's Eve, London Chinatown will hold a countdown event to welcome the arrival of the New Year, and overseas Chinese will also hold a grand celebration in Chinatown, setting off fireworks, dancing dragons and lions and performing acrobatics; Every Chinese shop is decorated with lanterns and colorful couplets to welcome the god of wealth, which is full of flavor.

3. Melbourne Chinatown

Chinatown in Melbourne, Australia was founded in the middle of19th century, accompanied by the "gold rush". It is not only the oldest Chinatown in Australia, but also one of the longest Chinatowns in the world.

Melbourne Chinatown was built according to the architectural style of Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty. In this ancient street, there are scattered several Chinese guildhalls with a history of one hundred years, some of which were carved in Xianfeng period of Qing Dynasty, which have high historical value.

In the central open space in the center of Melbourne Chinatown, there is an archway imitating Chaotianmen Gate in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, which is a sign leading to the Australia-China History Museum.

The Australian-Chinese History Museum retains the historical imprint of the establishment of Chinatown and the immigration of Chinese to Australia. There, you can see clothes, labor tools, tableware, furniture and other early household items in China, as well as historical photos, newspapers, diaries, letters, books, account books and various handicrafts, showing the life scenes of China people in those years and the historical culture precipitated in them.

4. Zhonghua Street in Yokohama, Japan

Chinatown in Yokohama, Japan, with a history of over 140 years, is the largest Chinatown in Japan and even in Asia.

At the west entrance of Zhonghua Street in Yokohama, there is a 15-meter-high Chinese archway with three Chinese characters written on it. Restaurants and shops are all Chinese-style buildings, and there is a Guandi Temple in the middle of the street.

Zhonghua Street is a famous dining area in Yokohama, with more than 200 restaurants in China alone. Every day, a large number of tourists visit Zhonghua Street and taste China cuisine.

Every Spring Festival, activities such as lion dancing and visiting Guandi Temple are held in Zhonghua Street in Yokohama. Many Japanese people from China gather here to celebrate the traditional festivals in China, and even tourists from other places make Chinatown extremely lively.

5. Chinatown in Singapore

Singapore Chinatown also has a special name called "Chinatown". When there is no running water, it is very common for ox carts to transport water in Chinatown, hence the name.

In Chinatown, the variety of China cuisine is rich and complete. China people from different provinces can find the authentic "hometown flavor" when they come here. From Guangdong morning tea to northeast jiaozi, from Hunan chopped pepper fish head to Sichuan hot pot, everything is available.

Today's Chinatown not only retains the traditional culture of China, but also is a modern shopping center. Restaurants, shops and temples with ethnic characteristics are lined up. There are various vendors living next to a century-old shop, where different cultures blend.

Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council-How many of these world-famous Chinatowns have you been to?