The biggest Chinatown in the world is widely considered to be Bangkok, Thailand's Yaowarat, known for its vastness, vibrant street food, gold shops, and rich Chinese-Thai culture, often cited as larger and more active than famous ones in New York or San Francisco, though Yokohama, Japan, and Manila, Philippines, also host major Chinatowns.
The Chinese community in France was estimated to count 600,000 persons in 2004 and 700,000 persons in 2007. The Chinatown in Paris located in the 13th arrondissement is the largest in Europe.
The biggest Chinatown in the UK is in London, located in the West End near Leicester Square, known for its dense cluster of restaurants, shops, and cultural venues, especially vibrant during Chinese New Year celebrations. While London's is the largest and most famous, Manchester has the second-largest, and Liverpool has Europe's oldest Chinatown, marked by a large ceremonial gate.
The ten local authorities with the largest proportion of people who identified as Asian were: Redbridge (47.33%), Slough (46.75%), Harrow (45.23%), Tower Hamlets (44.43%), Leicester (43.40%), Newham (42.21%), Luton (36.99%), Hounslow (36.73%), Blackburn with Darwen (35.66%) and Hillingdon (33.32%).
Binondo, Manila's Chinatown, is the oldest of its kind in the world. More than 400 years since it was established, the district still continues to thrive. Derived from the Filipino word binundok (“mountainous”), Binondo was established in 1594 as a permanent settlement for Chinese-Catholic immigrants.
In 2008, Neolithic city ruins from the late period, more than 6,000 years old, were uncovered at Yangguanzhai in Gaoling, Xi'an. This discovery was selected as China's top archaeological find that year, marking the earliest known city site in China and pushing the city's history back to the late Neolithic period.
The Chinese community is widely dispersed throughout the UK, but the main concentration, around half, is in London. There are established Chinatowns in large cities, such as London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle upon Tyne.
About 90% (actually closer to 94%) of China's population lives in the eastern half of the country, east of the Heihe-Tengchong line, a diagonal border from the northeast to the southwest, due to fertile plains, abundant water, and suitable climate for agriculture, while the western side features harsh deserts, mountains, and plateaus making settlement difficult.
Liverpool Chinatown was the first to be established in Europe. In the late 1860s many Chinese migrants first arrived in Liverpool as a result of employment of Chinese seamen by the Blue Funnel Shipping Line, creating strong links between the cities, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Liverpool.
Nigeria. China Town, a Chinese-dominated business arena in the Ojota area of Lagos. The giant shopping centre, which sits on an expanse of land measuring 20,000 square metres, will no longer be for only economic activities.
Nestled in the heart of Mexico City's historic center lies Barrio Chino, often dubbed the “smallest Chinatown in the world.” This vibrant enclave, spanning just one block long and two blocks wide, offers a unique blend of Chinese and Mexican cultures that belies its compact size.
What city has the largest Chinese population outside of China?
Multiple large Chinatowns in Manhattan, Brooklyn (above), and Queens are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, as large-scale Chinese immigration continues into New York, with the largest metropolitan Chinese population outside Asia.
The most common countries of birth for immigrants in the UK are India, Poland, Pakistan, Romania, and Ireland, with India consistently being the largest group, followed by EU countries like Poland and Romania, reflecting historical migration and recent economic ties. Recent data from 2021/22 census shows India with the highest number, while Poland and Romania also represent significant proportions of the foreign-born population.
Shanghai has the highest density of English speakers in China, thanks to its: Role as a global financial hub. Expat communities. Multinational companies.
These top five surnames – Wang, Lee (Li), Zhang, Liu, Chen – alone accounted for more people than Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, The next five – Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu, and Zhou – were each shared by more than 20 million Chinese.
Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island (ceded by China to Britain in 1842), the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island (ceded in 1860) and the New Territories, which include the mainland area lying to the north and 235 offshore islands.
China was first unified in 221 BC, a century after Alexander the Great had created the Hellenistic Empire, and just a few centuries before the zenith of the Roman Empire. Three, three-and-a-half, four millennia — surely all ancient enough.
A xian (simplified Chinese: 仙; traditional Chinese: 僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) is any manner of immortal or mythical being within the Taoist pantheon or Chinese folklore. Xian has often been translated into English as "immortal" or "wizard".
New York's Manhattan Chinatown has the highest concentration of Chinese people outside of Asia. Binondo in Manila, established in 1594, is recognized as the world's oldest standing Chinatown.
Today, with the largest Chinese population outside of Asia, the entire metro area is home to an extraordinary variety of Sinitic (Chinese) languages even beyond the most widely spoken (Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujianese, Taishanese, Wenzhounese, Hakka).
Binondo, located in Manila, Philippines, is considered by many to be the oldest existing Chinatown in the world, having been officially established in 1594 by the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines as a permanent settlement for Chinese who had converted to Christianity.
