Chinatowns In Malaysia

Chinatowns in Asia are widespread with a large concentration of overseas Chinese in East Asia and Southeast Asia and ethnic Chinese whose ancestors came from southern China - particularly the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan - and settled in countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea centuries ago—starting as early as the Tang Dynasty, but mostly notably in the 17th through the 19th centuries (during the reign of the Qing Dynasty), and well into the 20th century. Today the Chinese diaspora in Asia is largely concentrated in Southeast Asia however the legacy of the once widespread overseas Chinese communities in Asia is evident in the many Chinatowns that are found across East, South and Southeast Asia.

These ethnic Chinese arrived from southern mainland China and were mainly Chinese people of Cantonese (Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia), Hakka (India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei), Hokkien (Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar), and Teochew/Chaozhou (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia) stock and pockets of Hainanese, Hokchew and Henghwa in some countries.

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 that set off the area as a permanent settlement for Chinese who had converted to Christianity. (A separate area, then called the Parian, was allotted for unconverted Chinese.)Raitisoja, Gen
" Chinatown Manila: Oldest in the world"
, ''Tradio86.com'', July 8, 2006.

The ethnic Chinese represent a large minority population in most of these countries—with Singapore being the exception where Chinese-origin Singaporeans form the majority of the population. Chinese Indonesians and Chinese Filipinos have adopted to Indonesian and Filipino ways, respectively. The Thai Chinese and Chinese Cambodian people have generally assimilated into the larger Thai and Cambodian population, respectively.

Traditional areas of Chinese settlement in Asia

Historically and traditionally, Southeast Asia, South Asia and to some extent East Asia have been the traditional areas of Overseas Chinese settlement within Asia. Migrations of ethnic Chinese in the eighteenth and nineteenth century to other parts of Asia, primarily went to Southeast Asia with smaller numbers going to South Asia. As a result, Chinatowns emerged in many of these areas of Chinese settlement.

Specific Asian Chinatowns

Cambodia

Phnom Penh Chinatown might not be as fancy as other countries, but it’s still one of those places to visit if one want to learn more about Chinese history in Cambodia.

It is currently situated in the areas around Orussey Market and Central Market. It also lies on Charles de Gaulle street and Kampuchea Krom Boulevard (west of Central Market) as well as Monivong Boulevard. One of the streets worth visiting to experience Chinese influence is Street 166.

Food and shops

In Phnom Penh’s Chinatown, visitors can find many delicious foods. There, one can find grilled squids, soy milk, fried banana, tea egg, lamian mee (mostly in Central Market and around Orussey Market). One of the best restaurants in Chinatown is Thmor Da Restaurant, and Monivong Boulevard also has many good Chinese restaurants. Street 136 also has many Chinese marts and good Chinese restaurants.

During night time, the outskirts of Orussey Market became a food paradise for food lovers. There one can find specialized street food such as grilled seafood, grilled beef on the skewer, char kway teow, fried rice and stir fried noodles. Those foods were also much cheaper than in most restaurants. Each year before the Moon Cake Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, handmade moon cakes and zongzi are sold on the street side (especially Street 166 and Charles de Gaulle Street). During Chinese New Year, freshly roasted ducks and pigs can be found around Orussey Market.

Apart from foods, visitors can also find Feng Shui masters and Chinese herb shops in Chinatown (especially on Street 166 and Street 107).

During Festival:

During Chinese New Year, visitors can view dragon dances and lion dances in Chinatown (mostly in Charles de Gaulle Street, Street 136, Street 107, Street 136, and many other smaller streets.) During Spirit Parade Day, parades can be seen along Charles de Gaulle Street.

History

Cambodia started to get into contact with China as early as 1st century CE, but it’s only until the 19th century that many Chinese started to immigrate to Cambodia. This is what motivated the French colonists in Cambodia to build Central Market in which later it became the country's most notable Chinatown. Most Chinese settlers in Cambodia are Teochew people followed by some Cantonese, Hokkien, and Hakka.

East Timor

Dili, East Timor has a Chinatown business area on Hudilaran Street.

India

Most of the Chinese of Calcutta live in or near is a Chinatown in Calcutta. Many Hakkas live in a community known as Tangra, which used to be dominated by leather tanneries (the Hindu majority will not touch cattle) and Chinese restaurants. There are roughly 2-3,000 Chinese in Calcutta in modern day, but there were a peak of 20,000 in the mid-20th century.

Another Chinatown is in Byculla, Mumbai; however it has diminished in population as many of its Indian-born Chinese ethnic residents after denied Indian passport, a backlash from the 1962 Indo-China war and better economic opportunities to foreign countries, such as Australia, Canada and the United States
Calcutta\'s Chinatown facing extinction over new rule - Taipei Times

Indonesia

In Indonesia, many Chinese reside within the city centres of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. There is also a sizeable Chinese population in small towns and villages across Sumatra and Borneo.
In Java, especially in Jakarta, Chinese people reside in Northern part of the province, such as Glodok, Mangga Dua, Pinangsia, Kelapa Gading, Grogol, Pantai Indah Kapuk, and Pluit. Other Chinatowns in Java are located in Tangerang city center, Suryakencana Street in Bogor

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