Chinatown in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, Australia, also called Adelaide Chinatown or Moonta Street Chinatown, is located on Moonta Street, within the large Adelaide Central Markets precinct between Grote and Gouger streets in the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...

. Two large

Paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

, which were erected by the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, are guarded by the

Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi () ...

. They mark the entrances at either end. Adelaide Chinatown consists mainly of Chinese restaurants, grocery stores and markets but also consists of many non-Chinese Asian restaurants offering cuisines of Indian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Nepali, Thai and Vietnamese origins.

History

The first dozen Chinese labourers arrived from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in Adelaide in 1847 to work as indentured shepherds. Many Chinese people disembarked in the port towns of South Australia before travelling overland to the

Victorian goldfields The Goldfields region of Victoria is a region commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography and tourism geography (in particular heritage tourism). The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle. Description I ...

due to immigration restrictions in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Chinatown in Adelaide began to grow in the 1970s and 1980s with the influx of Asian migrants particularly from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Produce was sold at the Central Market by market gardeners and this began the growth of the Asian food shops and cafés in the area. Pagoda style roofs, red lanterns, restaurants and grocery stores are found on Moonta Street, which is the centre of Chinatown. Paifang, which is a type of traditional Chinese archway, are at the opposite entrances of Moonta street and are guarded by Chinese lion statues which were donated by the Adelaide city council and by the Chinese government.

Lunar New Year Celebrations

Chinatown Adelaide has hosted the official Lunar New Year Celebrations in Moonta Street since 2003. In 2013 the celebrations were expanded with the assistance of the Adelaide City Council and major sponsors to also include

Gouger Street Gouger Street is a major street in the centre of Adelaide, South Australia.Map
of the

paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

at southern entrance File:Chinatown, Adelaide 1.jpg, Main street view on Moonta Street File:Chinatown, Adelaide at night.jpg, At night File:Adelaide Chinatown.jpg, Grote Street entrance

References

External links

Chinatown Adelaide Website
Asian-Australian culture in South Australia Culture of Adelaide

Restaurant districts and streets in Australia Tourist attractions in Adelaide {{adelaide-stub