Barrio chino () is a neighborhood in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

that is centered on two blocks – 7 and 8 – of Jirón Ucayali (Ucayali Street) in downtown. The neighborhood was founded in the mid-19th century by Chinese immigrants, but it was heavily damaged in the late 19th century by the War of the Pacific and further declined in the following decades. It experienced a revival starting in the 1970s and is now a thriving resource for

Chinese-Peruvian Chinese Peruvians, also known as ''tusán'' (a loanword from ), are Peruvian citizens whose ancestors came from China. They are people of overseas Chinese ancestry born in Peru or who have made Peru their adopted homeland. 14,307 Peruvians claim C ...

culture.

History

Origins

In the 1850s, Chinese immigrants started to cluster in the area around the Central Market, then called La Concepción. During the Spanish Colonial period, the area was known as Calle Capón, as it was the location of the market for castrated pigs. The consolidation of an ethnic Chinese neighborhood was spurred by the presence, from the 1860s, of large commercial houses established by Chinese import companies from Hong Kong and California. These included the Wing Fat Co., the Wo Chong Co., or the Wing On Chong Co. Small businesses catered to the Chinese population, such as

laundries Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

, shoe shops, restaurants, and small grocery stores (''bodegas''). Within a short time Chinese immigrants had established a number of benevolent societies and

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, often according to place of origin. For example, the Ku Kong Chao Association was established in 1868 by immigrants from rural Guangdong, the Pun Yui Society by Cantonese immigrants in 1887, and the Tungshin Society in 1898 by Hakka immigrants.Asociacion Peruano China
webpage. Retrieved 22 January 2012. The Chinese Central Benevolent Society, or Tonghui Chongkoc, was formed in 1882 to provide members with legal counseling, burial insurance, and the establishment of a Chinese school.

Decline

Like the rest of Lima, the area of Barrio Chino before the term was official suffered destruction and looting in 1881-1883 by invading Chilean military forces during the War of the Pacific. This left the quarter in economic disarray, in which only a handful of large enterprises were able to survive. As the neighborhood's fortune's declined, it became the target of critiques by the Lima elites intent on cleaning up the city and of mobs incited by political candidates and racist stereotypes. In 1909 the government demolished part of the quarter, and the neighborhood was again attacked during the labor riots of 1918. The ethnic face of the neighborhood also changed. A several-decade ban on Chinese immigration resulted in increasing intermarriage with Peruvians of non-Chinese descent and integration into the general society. This was coupled with an increase in migrants from the country's Andean highlands, who moved into Lima's downtown.

Renaissance

In the 20th Century, Barrio Chino had shrunk but nevertheless maintained a distinct ethnic character. In 1971, an archway was gifted from the people of Taiwan; it was erected at the corner of Ucayali and Andahuaylas to mark the entrance to Barrio Chino. Streets in the neighborhood were so crammed with stalls and street sellers that they were essentially impassable to vehicles. The crowding also made the area a notorious haven for pickpockets and cutpurses. In 1999, Barrio Chino was overhauled in preparation for the 150th anniversary of Chinese immigration to Peru. Calle Capón was cleared, closed to vehicles, and paved with over 30,000 red bricks bearing the names of donors and benefactors. Several panels were included depicting animals of the Chinese zodiac and, in the center of the new pedestrian mall, the ideogram for "Double Happiness". Since the 1970s, along with this physical renovation, the rescinding of the ban on Chinese immigration contributed to a demographic and cultural renewal of the ''barrio chino''.

Location

Today, ''barrio chino'' occupies several blocks around Jirón Ucayali to the east of Avenida Abancay in the historic district of Lima known as ''El Centro'' or ''Cercado de Lima''. Its heart is the pedestrian-only block called Calle Capón, located on Ucayali between Andahuaylas and Paruro, but businesses like restaurants spread along the adjoining roads.

Culture

The Calle Capón promenade is open every day of the year as a cultural and tourist attraction. Danza del león cdo

Traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated here. Examples are

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Barrio Chino is a source of Chinese ingredients and a hub of Chinese cuisine. Lima boasts over 6000 Chinese restaurants, called "chifas". Some of the most renowned and venerable of these are located in the neighborhood. The San Joy Lao, for example, was first established before 1920. Other notable chifas in the neighborhood include the Salón China, Wa Lok, and Sala Capón. Barrio Chino is the headquarters for several of the Chinese associations. There are also several temples and oracles, such as the oracle of Guan Yu, Lord Guan at the Kuan Tai Kung Temple, which is administered by the Pun Yui society, and temples dedicated to Lord Guan and other Deities run by the Ku Kong Chao and Tungshing associations. Several Chinese-language journals are based here. ''La Voz de la Colonia China'' ("The Voice of the Chinese Colony") is published every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. ''Ch'iao Pao'' is published thrice weekly and is also circulated to other Peruvian cities. ''Man Chin Po'', the Americas' oldest Chinese-language newspaper, was published there on Wednesdays and Saturdays starting in 1911, but it ceased publication in 2002.

References

{{Coord, -12.050957, -77.025769, display=title Asian Peruvian Ethnic enclaves in South America Geography of Lima Restaurant districts and streets Tourist attractions in Lima Chinatowns in Latin America Chinatowns in South America