The Quartier asiatique (Asian Quarter), also called Triangle de Choisy or Petite Asie (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: 巴黎唐人街,
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
: ''Phố Tàu Paris'') is the largest commercial and cultural center for the Asian community of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. It is located in the southeast of the
13th arrondissement in an area that contains many high-rise apartment buildings. Despite its status as a "
Chinatown", the neighborhood also contains significant
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
,
Laotian and
Cambodian populations.
History
The first wave of Asian immigrants to the neighborhood consisted of ethnic Vietnamese refugees from the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
during the late 1970s. Later waves of migrants consisted of
ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, who also fled their countries following their communist takeovers and to avoid persecution by the new governments. A significant number of the earlier Vietnamese immigrants integrated into French society shortly after their arrival, and began moving to other areas of Paris and the surrounding
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
region, while still maintaining a commercial presence in the area. This left the neighborhood having a larger ethnic Chinese presence, and thus led to a creation of the present-day "Chinatown".
Neighborhood
The Quartier Asiatique forms an area roughly the shape of a triangle bounded by Avenue de Choisy, Avenue d'Ivry and Boulevard Masséna, as well as the
Les Olympiades complex. Within this neighborhood, commercial activity is dominated by Chinese and Vietnamese businesses, with a smaller number of Laotian and Cambodian establishments. The large French Asian specialty market chains of ''
Tang Frères
''Tang Frères'' ("Tang Brothers") is an Asian supermarket chain based in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, one of the ''quartier chinois'' (Chinatown) of the capital city of France.
Tang Frères is known as the biggest Asian supermarket chai ...
'' and ''
Paristore
Paris Store or Paristore is an Asian supermarket situated in France in the region of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Roubaix, Strasbourg, Toulouse, and Tours.
It has more than 20 branches, including one in the 13ème arrondissement, Paris, 13th arrondi ...
'' also have their flagship locations within the quarter. As the focal point for the Asian population of the Île-de-France region, a number of community organizations are headquartered here, helping to serve immigrant needs and cultural activities, especially for those from the former
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
. The annual
Lunar New Year parade within the neighborhood is largest in Paris.
Unlike other Chinatowns in the Western world,
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture ( Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, ...
is not highly visible in the area, with an exception being the several
Buddhist temples located throughout the district.
Demographics
The Quartier Asiatique is the largest Chinatown in Europe, and unlike the diminutive but well-known
Chinese district around
Gerrard Street in
London's Soho, it represents a significant population center as the result of very considerable immigration. The area is populated by nearly 50,000 people, largely of Chinese, Vietnamese and Laotian descent.
Originally an
ethnic Vietnamese quarter, the Asian population in the area diversified in the 1980s as other ethnic groups from Indochina also settled in the district, the largest group being ethnic Chinese. While a large proportion of the neighborhood's earlier Vietnamese population assimilated into French society and moved to other areas of Paris, they still maintain a strong commercial and cultural presence in the district.
Languages used among immigrant groups in the community include the
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
and
Teochew dialect
Teochew or Chaozhou (, , , Teochew endonym: , Shantou dialect: ) is a dialect of Chaoshan Min, a Southern Min language, that is spoken by the Teochew people in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and by their diaspora around the world. ...
s of the
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
, as well as
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
,
Lao and
Khmer. Ethnic Chinese refugees are often conversant in one of the latter three languages in addition to their native Chinese dialect, due to their origins from Indochina.
Similar communities
Paris also hosts three other Asiatic districts within its limits. The most notable is that of the
Belleville neighborhood in the
20th arrondissement. Unlike Chinatown and the 13th arrondissement, ethnic Chinese from Indochina form a minority of the neighborhood's overall and Asian population. Ethnic groups from Indochina also do not have a significant presence in the Belleville community. Instead, the vast majority of Belleville's ethnic Chinese population consists of those with origins from the eastern Chinese coastal city of
Wenzhou
Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou y33–11 tɕiɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east ...
and surrounding southern
Zhejiang province.
Meanwhile, the oldest but smallest Asian neighborhood in Paris is located in the
3rd arrondissement, near the
Musée des Arts et Métiers
The Musée des Arts et Métiers () (French for Museum of Arts and Crafts) is an industrial design museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the pr ...
. It is bounded roughly by , Rue Volta, Rue du Temple and Rue des Gravilliers. The district was established in the early 1900s, when Chinese migrants specializing in the leather and Chinese porcelain industries arrived in Paris from the Wenzhou region. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, a large number of
Chinese laborers, also principally from Wenzhou, were recruited by the French Empire to help with war efforts in the country. The small number who decided to stay in France after the war also settled in the district.
Le Quartier Chinois de Paris Arts-et-Métiers
(in French)
SInce the 1990s, a Japanese quarter has been developing along Rue Sainte-Anne in the 1st arrondissement near the Pyramides Métro station. The area hosts a number of Japanese restaurants and specialty boutiques, along with branch offices of the Japan National Tourism Organization and Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
. In recent years, a Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
presence has also been established in the same area.
Gallery
Image:Paris-macdo.jpg, Mix of culture in the ''Triangle de Choisy''.
Image:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_02.jpg, Chinese New Year parade in 2015.
Image:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_danse_avec_eventail.jpg, Chinese New Year parade.
Image:Paris 13e - Olympiades - temple bouddhique 1.JPG, Teochew Association in France.
See also
* Belleville, Paris
Belleville () is a neighbourhood of Paris, France, parts of which lie in four different arrondissements. The major portion of Belleville straddles the borderline between the 20th arrondissement and the 19th along its main street, the ''Rue de Be ...
* Chinese diaspora in France
* Vietnamese people in France
The Vietnamese people in France ( Vietnamese: 𠊛法梏越, ''Người Pháp gốc Việt;'' ) consist of people of full or partially Vietnamese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to France. Their population was about 400,000 as of 2017, mak ...
References
{{Coord, 48, 49, 20, N, 02, 21, 55, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title
13th arrondissement of Paris
Asian diaspora in Paris
Asian-French culture
Chinatowns in Europe
Ethnic enclaves in France
Little Saigons
Districts of Paris