Mahale Chiniha (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: محله ی چینی ها) is a neighborhood in the center of

Gachsaran Dogonbadan ( fa, دوگنبدان, ; also Romanized as Do Gonbadān, Dow Gonbadān, and Du Gunbadān; also known as Gachsaran ( fa, گچساران), also Romanized as Gachsārān) is a city and the capital of Gachsaran County, Kohgiluyeh and Boye ...

City, Iran and its most populous area. Running for about , it is one of the most crowded in the city, especially at sunset. The buildings are a unique mixture of traditional, modern, Chinese and

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...

. There are also many luxury shopping malls, stores, restaurants, nightclubs and bars frequented by both local people and tourists.

History

Although information about the former use of Mahale Chiniha is scarce, until the early 2000s it was not a densely populated area. However, in 2001, following diplomatic engagement between Iran and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, Mahale Chiniha was considered a location where Chinese culture and architecture could be showcased. Designs for the project were completed in May 2003 with a scheduled construction time of three years, however, a lack of sponsors slowed progress. When nearly a quarter of the buildings were complete, many new private sponsors became involved who wanted Mahale Chiniha to become a trade center. As a result, the development strategy changed and Chinese-themed sky scrapers were built instead of shop buildings in a purely traditional Chinese style.

History

See also