While many are still recovering from New Year’s Eve, the party in China has just begun! With the Chinese New Year (also known as Spring Festival) upon us, here are the best Chinatowns to discover
San Francisco, California, USA
Under the leadership of the current Chinese-American mayor, Edwin Lee, the huge Chinese community of San Francisco can count on four Chinatown neighborhoods in the city.
You will be in close contact with a world from a distant country as you pass the English and Chinese lettering at the bottom of Grant Avenue. This historic parade was once famous for its confusion, opium halls and illegal activities but, today it is a symbolic and exemplary event that makes these streets among the most famous in the city, for Chinese and non-Chinese alike.
If Buddha keychains and dragon magnets don’t pique your curiosity about the Asian world enough, move one block to Stockton Street. It is in this busy heart of the business world that San Franciscans gather to have a glass of wine, dine and stroll.
One of the most notable cultural attractions San Francisco’s Chinatown offers is the new trend of the Ghost Tour , which will guide fearful visitors to the neighborhood’s supernatural zone.
Celebrate the Spring Festival at the city’s inviting Botanical Garden or enjoy concert tunes from the San Francisco Chinese Symphony and an imperial dinner at Davies Symphony Hall .
Melbourne, Australia
Often regarded as the longest-running Chinese settlement in the Western world, Melbourne’s Chinatown has an intriguing history full of charm. Many travelers from the province of Quandong (an ancient Canton) set sail for the New South Wales colony in the mid-19th century, hoping to make a fortune during the Victoria Gold Rush. Since then, the Chinese community in Australia has grown to such an extent that this neighborhood has become one of the most intriguing places in the city especially during the Spring Festival.
In addition to the classic traditions typical of this holiday such as craft fairs, food markets and Chinese chess tournaments in the street, Melbourne’s Chinatown is the place where the millennial dragon Dai Loong is released. See this flying wonder come to life at the Dragon Awakening ceremony on Little Bourke Street, with 200 people carrying the cardboard creature during this spectacular parade.
If you ever need to take a break from all this partying, you can always visit the Chinese Museum at Cohen Place to learn more about this ever-blooming neighborhood.
Extra Tip: Head to Melbourne in February for the Golden Koala Film Festival , an annual Chinese film festival.
Bangkok, Thailand
Heading north into Bangkok’s Chinatown , you will be struck by the fragrant aromas emanating from Pak Klong Talad, a wholesale flower market laden with handpicked exotic and fresh Chinese-Thai flowers, to the background of the chirping of birds fluttering in this area of the city.
However, don’t be fooled by the tranquility of this market. Not only is Bangkok’s Chinatown district one of the oldest in the capital, it is also one of the most extravagant. Once you cross the threshold of the old Chinese gate on the east side of Yaowarat Road, you will be greeted by an almost endless array of goldsmith shops with neon-lit displays, Qing dynasty relics and ancient Chinese healing herbs.
This main road is almost always crammed with taxis and Tuk-Tuk but, during the Chinese New Year celebrations, traffic is diverted to make room for thousands of drummers, Lion Dance dancers and dragon-accompanied parades that turn into real life. and own parties.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam’s Chinatown has crossed its original borders at the end of the red light district and has become a real noteworthy attraction.
You will enjoy peace and quiet at Zeedijk Street He Hua Temple, one of the largest Buddhist religious centers in Europe, with intensely colored walls filled with golden characters drawn from the three canons of Buddhist sacred texts. Pangs in the stomach? Head to Toko Dun Yong on the corner of Stormsteeg which boasts an Asian market on the ground floor, a hidden ramen bar upstairs and the Flavors of the Far East cooking studio, where you can learn the tricks behind Chinese cuisine .
The center of the neighborhood is the Nieuwmarkt square, where locals and visitors alike come together for an evening with typical Spring Festival tunes, dragon dances and parties, and glowing barrels that perfectly match this vibrant and young Chinatown.
London, UK
Don’t be fooled by the small size of London’s Chinatown . Located between the commercial traffic of Leicester Square and the luxurious theaters of Shaftesbury Avenue, as soon as you step into this lively neighborhood you will see a side of the Big Smoke that cannot be compared to any other neighborhood in the capital, giving everyone completely unusual perceptions and performances.
Once you have resisted the temptation of a tender baked duck displayed in almost every restaurant window ( London Chinatown restaurant is the best on the plate), you will discover that there are many other fragrances that will delight your sense of smell: from the big shops of Chinese sweets with scents from the Jen Café at Newport Place. It is a Chinese tea room that will give you some peace from the inevitable crowd in the streets as well as a perfect place to admire the wisest seniors as they face off at Chinese checkers matches, also known as Go at the Gerrard pagoda Street.
London’s Chinese New Year celebrations are often known for being some of the biggest, loudest and most impressive outside the Asian continent, but it’s still a fantastic party. Join the hundreds of thousands of people who flock to the streets carrying lanterns, paper dragons, or dancing until the first light of the new day.
Yokohama, Japan
Tokyo is the city par excellence where you can find a bit of everything but, just an hour from this ultra modern capital is Yokohama , where you will find all the Chinese charm of yesteryear.
There are thousands of shops selling the most varied Chinese costume jewelery products (some are for tourists only but most are authentic), you will also find numerous lounges ideal for acupressure massage and shamans ready to reveal your future based on the Four Columns of Destiny (an ancient tradition known as ‘Bazi’).
One of the reasons for visiting this neighborhood is undoubtedly the food. Even the most seasoned gourmets claim that in the Chinatown Yokohama district you will find the best food of any other Chinatown in the world (with all the regional culinary varieties of this huge country, it is almost impossible to represent it in a mini-city). Join the celebrations for the traditional Spring Festival performance this February in the beautiful Yamashita-cho Park.
Paris, France
The population of Chinese origin gathered in Paris is so large that the French capital is home to a handful of neighborhoods Chinatown, Quartier Chinois in French, which is constantly growing.
The largest and busiest is in the 13th Arrondissement, a neighborhood where huge residential buildings were rejected by Parisians during the 1970s; all this allowed the Chinese and other Asian expats to leave their native lands during the Vietnam War and find cheap accommodation. Since then, this motivated community has turned this gray side of the city into a thriving hub of activity, with some internationally acclaimed Chinese restaurants such as Chine Massena , numerous shop windows well-stocked with the best delights from China, and a Buddha temple. original inside a public car park in the city.
The best Chinese district in Paris is probably that of the 3rd Arrondissement, the neighborhood without prejudice, Le Marais, a wonderful area to be discovered. It is a place where majestic Gothic architecture mixes with Chinese tradition and, this contrast is even more marked during the New Year celebrations, with men wearing red silk uniforms (who wish wealth, joy and luck) and wander through the charming Parisian streets showing off huge paper lanterns, before confronting each other in martial arts tournaments.
The Spring Festivals of these districts are all celebrated on different days; you will therefore have the opportunity to celebrate at least twice the great and noisy Goat’s year party which is now upon us!
