China in your land: how the world's Chinatowns have grown

You can find Chinatowns in major cities throughout the world, and they go back a long way. In Mandarin, Chinatown is usually referred to as Tangrenjie, meaning Tang People’s Street, and there are two interpretations of this. Some say it refers to one of China’s greatest dynasties (the Tang Dynasty, AD 618 to AD 907). Others believe the word refers to the Tang Mountain village in China, where some of the first Chinese immigrants to the US came from.

Whatever the origin of the word, Tangrenjie is not a new concept – in some Asian countries, Chinatowns were founded more than two centuries ago. The most famous in the West are in San Francisco and New York, but there are now Chinatowns established on every continent. New York even goes so far as to have six. However, some argue that to be officially called Chinatown, it must have a large red arch at the entrance, flanked by two lion statues. Otherwise, it’s just an Asian quarter. Take Belgium, for example: Brussels has an Asian quarter near Sainte-Catherine, while Antwerp has an official Chinatown (pictured) near the station.

In the past, there were two important causes for Chinese migration to the West: many people were sold as slaves to build railways, while others travelled to North America and Australia in pursuit of gold. Though the reasons for migration varied, Chinatowns were viewed as a refuge, an enclave for these early immigrants. Many early Chinatowns had worn-down buildings housing cheap, low-quality chop-suey restaurants, laundry services, even gambling dens and brothels.

Today, most have been transformed into must-see tourist attractions. Many of the traditional, old-fashioned businesses have closed over time, to be replaced by Chinese and Asian grocery stores, fresh fish and seafood stores, butcher’s shops, newspaper stands, noodle houses, restaurants, karaoke bars, massage parlours, bakeries and beauty salons.

Historically, Cantonese was the main language in Chinatowns, since most of the community leaders came from Hong Kong or Canton province, but this is changing. In addition to restaurants serving only Cantonese-style cuisine – with roasted duck and suckling pigs displayed in the window – you can find cuisines from other parts of China, such as Hakka, Szechuan, Hunan and Shanghai.

You can even dine on food from nearby countries, including Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Japan and Malaysia. For example, restaurants in Paris’s 13th arrondissement Asian quarter are dominated by Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese cuisine.

I’ve visited Chinatowns all over the Western world, and nine times out of 10 I’ve found the food to be satisfactory. However, I had the most disappointing ma-po tofu in London and hot sour soup in New York: in both cases, ketchup was involved.

Still, when I visited Manchester last year, I couldn’t wait to treat myself to a dim sum feast in the city’s Chinatown. As I was queuing to get in to a restaurant, I realised many Western guests, young and old, were waiting along with me, while a few doors down at McDonald’s I saw many (I assumed) second-generation young Chinese tucking into Big Macs and fries. I suppose you’d call that a cultural exchange.