China Town Initial Research

China Town in London history stretches back way before Chinese businesses came to London streets in the 1950's. In fact, London’s original Chinatown was in the East End where Chinese employees first rocked up in the 18th century.

By 1914 a Chinese community was burgeoning with new restaurants and shops catering for sailors. Today’s Chinatown’s story begins with the Great Fire of London. In the panic to rebuild, attention turned to a military training ground on farmland. The area’s owner, Lord Gerrard gave permission for houses to be built. Gerrard Street was completed in 1685, then later a market hall and slaughterhouse which is when Soho was born.

Within the century Chinatown was one of London's biggest hotspots - for numerous creatives like writers and artists and politicians. In the late 1800s new waves of immigrants followed; Italians, then Jewish, then Maltese. Irish proprietor Kate Meyrick ran the notorious roaring twenties 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street and legendary jazz maverick Ronnie Scott set up his first jazz club in the basement of number 39. Soho was well and truly on fire – culturally this time.

Post-war London’s Chinese community were short of income and even shorter of a place to live. When they arrived to the area in the 1950s, it’d gained a reputation for great nightlife and cheap commercial rents. Luckily for them, British soldiers returning from the Far East had fallen hard for Chinese cuisine and so up sprung supermarkets and restaurants. Their success attracted more Chinese entrepreneurs away from the East End to seek their fortunes, and the Chinatown of today was born.

The communities hold several festivals throughout the year and boast near 100 restaurants with cuisine from across east Asia, it also holds dozens of shops including herbal remedy treatments, hairdressers, pharmacists, reflexology specialists and travel agencies. And of course bars and pubs.

China Town is host to many celebrations of the Asian culture, such as the Chinese New Year where it is said when you attend you celebrate and bring you good luck.