There are 120,250

Chinese people The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of sta ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, comprising 1.5% of the city's population. 33% of ethnic Chinese people in the United Kingdom reside in London. As of 2000, more recent ethnic Chinese arrivals originated from

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

, Taiwan, and Vietnam while historically Chinese had migrated from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, including the urbanised areas and the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

; Singapore; Malaysia; and elsewhere in southeast Asia.

History

According to John Eade, a Chinese community representative stated that in the 1780s Chinese sailors visited London, making them the first Chinese to do so. In the latter half of the 1800s the first wave of Chinese immigrants came to London. Chinese lived in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

by the time

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

occurred. Since Hong Kong was a British territory, many Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong as well as

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

(which were, and still are, very similar in terms of economy and geography) were either brought over or travelled to London and subsequently the rest of the U.K. Another wave of Chinese immigration occurred in London during the 1950s and 1960s. The London economy prompted Chinese from many places to move, while changes in international rice markets prompted some Chinese from the

of Hong Kong to move to London. During the same era, many Chinese moved from

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

to Soho. In the 1970s and 1980s many Chinese working in Soho continued to work there but began moving to suburbs. Non-Chinese began replacing the Chinese in Soho in the 1980s. As of the late 1980s Soho remained the centre of the London Chinese community. The Chinese were not involved in the development of the Soho LGBT community.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census,

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

included 124,250 British Chinese, making up 1.5% of the overall population. The borough of Barnet had the highest population with a Chinese ethnic group followed by

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, with Camden ranking second by local proportion. The report ''London's Population and the 2011 Census: First Report Session 2009-10, Report, Together with Formal Minutes and Oral and Written Evidence'' stated that among recent migrants from China "many work long hours in the unregulated sector and many are entirely, and consensually, disenfranchised from public life in London." Few of the Chinese migrants had formal leases or ownership of property. At the time, there were low levels of English literacy among the migrants. John Eade, author of ''Placing London: From Imperial Capital to Global City'', wrote that "Chinatown remained one of the most important symbolic centres of community for Chinese across Britain."

Institutions

There are Chinese community centres in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

, Barnet, Camden,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and

. Major organisations include the London Chinese Community Centre, London Chinatown Chinese Association, Islington Chinese Association, Kingston Chinese Association and the London Chinese Cultural Centre. The Ming-Ai (London) Institute focuses on better integrating the London's Chinese community with the wider London community. This is achieved by providing opportunities for British people to learn more about Chinese culture and raising awareness to issues which affecting Overseas Chinese. The Islington Chinese Association (ICA) is present in London.

Education

The Westminster Chinese Library, based at the Charing Cross Library (), holds one of the largest collections of Chinese materials in UK public libraries. It has a collection of over 50,000 Chinese books available for loan and reference to local readers of Chinese; music cassettes, CDs, and video films for loan; community information and general enquiries; a national subscription service of Chinese books; and Chinese events organised from time to time. The library also hosted a photography exhibition in 2013 as part of the British Chinese Heritage project, with photographs and stories of Chinese workers.

Recreation

The London Dragon Boat Festival is held annually in June at the

London Regatta Centre The London Regatta Centre (now formally known as Royal Docks Watersports Centre) is a rowing and dragon boat racing centre located in the Docklands area in the East End of London. It is built at the west end on the northern quayside of the histor ...

, Royal Albert Docks. It is organised by the London Chinatown Lions Club.

Politics

The Chinese for Labour Group (renamed "East and Southeast Asians for Labour") was formed in 1999 to represent the interests of Chinese people in the Labour Party and improve the quality of life of Chinese communities in Britain. Its current chair is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith ...

, it was co-founded and formerly chaired by Sonny Leong, and it lists

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

professor Stephen Chan as an extraordinary ambassador.

Conservative Friends of the Chinese The Conservative Friends of the Chinese is a membership organization that engages with the British Chinese community on UK - China relations. It is linked to the Conservative Party in the UK and actively campaigns for the Party in the British Chi ...

is chaired by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Parliamentary Chairman) and Lord Wei of Shoreditch (Nat Wei).

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *