Liverpool Boast’s Europe’s Oldest Chinatown #Liverpool
Go to practically any major city in the world and you will be able to find a Chinatown to spend some time in. Some of them will be small, some of them will be large, but all of them will be full of character.
To some, they are the place to go if you want to enjoy a decent Chinese meal, whilst to others they are the part of town that you should visit if you want to see sold examples of fascinating Chinese architecture. Although modern day China is painted as something of a bogeyman by some, those that helped to create the various Chinatowns in the UK are nothing but friendly and welcoming.
Most people who have been to London will know of the Chinatown in the capital, located not far from Leicester Square and promising an excellent place to have a wonder around. Head to Birmingham and Manchester and you will find similar such places, boasting Chinese arches and a wealth of different restaurants.
In Liverpool, the Chinatown isn’t just a great place to go for a bite to eat but is also the location of the oldest such Chinese community in Europe, dating back to as long ago as 1834.
Liverpool’s Setting as a Port City
It is impossible to separate Liverpool from its maritime past. Although some might wish to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to how intricately associated with the slave trade the city was, the reality is that a huge swathe of enslaved people either passed through Liverpool or else were taken away from their homes on ships built in the city.
In 1834, the first ship from China arrived in Liverpool looking to trade goods such as cotton wool and silk, with Chinese seamen on them.
Whilst some of them will have remained behind, beginning the work of establishing a Chinatown in Liverpool, it wasn’t until the establishment of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line in the late 1860s that large numbers of Chinese seamen arrived in the city and remained here.
The commercial shipping line looked to create strong links for trade between Liverpool and the likes of Shanghai and Hong Kong, with tea added to the other goods that were brought in on the ships.
The Establishment of Chinatown
By the 1890s, more and more of the seaman who had arrived in Liverpool were refusing to leave. As a result, numerous businesses began to be setup by the Chinese people who lived in the city, catering to both other Chinese citizens and to those who were just passing through on the various ships.
Although the Blue Funnel Shipping Line, setup by Alfred Holt and Company, was the one that employed the most Chinese seamen, it wasn’t the only one that made use of such labour and so more and more Chinese people arrived in the city.
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Some of the men married British women, which in turn resulted in the birth of British-born Eurasian Chinese people who themselves needed places to live and work.
By the time the Second World War broke out, there were as many as 20,000 Chinese mariners living in the city and Liverpool’s first Chinatown had been created within the dockland area. It was only after heavy bombing during the war that Liverpool’s Chinatown was relocated to its current location, which can be found just to the west of Liverpool Cathedral.
Liverpool’s Chinese Arch
In 1992, part of a regeneration scheme for the Chinatown area was put in place by Liverpool City Council. Plans for a Chinese arch were mooted, with a design competition being carried out and the winner chosen by the local Chinese community.
It took until 1999 for construction on the arch to begin, with Bootle-based Dowhigh Civil Engineering being awarded the contract. Liverpool’s twin city, Shanghai, supplied 20 specialist craftsmen who specialised in the likes of stonemasonry, painting and stone carving to assist with the arch’s creation.
As well as the 20 Chinese workers, the Shanghai Linyi Garden Company Limited also shipped 2,000 block components in five large containers. It took around 90 days for the work to be completed, thanks in no small part to the fact that the Chinese workers didn’t celebrate Christmas Day or Boxing Day and worked through.
The arch was finished in 2000, costing around £700,000 to build, and was official opened on Chinese New Year. It stands at 44-foot, making it the tallest in Europe and the second-tallest outside of mainland China.
The post Liverpool Boast’s Europe’s Oldest Chinatown first appeared on Scouse Not English.
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