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Chinese Argentines are Argentine citizens of Chinese ancestry or Chinese-born immigrants. The Chinese Argentine community is one of the fastest-growing communities in Argentina. As of 2018, the community was made up of 200,000 people.


History

Since the 20th century, the Chinese in Argentina came in three waves. The first wave of immigrants came from small coastal towns between 1914 and 1949. The second wave of immigrants arrived from
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
in the 1980s and over the years, they have become accustomed to the porteño lifestyle. A considerable number of people from
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and the southern coastal region of China immigrated during the second wave. The third wave came in the 1990s, hailing mostly from mainland China, mostly from the coastal province of
Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
. This group is filled with young drifters who came often through the illegal smuggling route originating in China's Fujian Province. However, many of the small supermarkets that are present in many neighbourhoods of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
come from the community present during the third wave of immigration. Recently, there has been a fourth and newer wave of Chinese immigration who are mostly ambitious and educated members of China's growing middle-class who are looking to find their place in China's growing economy. Young employees of Chinese companies have recently arrived to work for at least two years. Today, many Chinese Argentines usually run ''supermercados chinos'' (Chinese supermarkets), which dominate the second tier of grocery stores in Buenos Aires. ''Tintorerías'' (Dry Cleaners) for laundry are also a common Chinese-run business.


Discrimination

Since the
Argentine economic crisis Argentina has faced several economic crises, such as: * The Rodrigazo (1975) * The 1989 hyperinflation in Argentina * The 1998–2002 Argentine great depression The 1998–2002 Argentine great depression was an economic depression in Argenti ...
, many small Chinese-owned businesses have faced significant crime. Robberies are frequent, with one Chinese supermarket reportedly robbed up to 14 times in one year, and stories of family members shot at gunpoint in their store are not uncommon. Tensions have arisen with other immigrant groups as well. In June 2006, the union of truck drivers began a boycott of Chinese-owned stores. This was due to an alleged gun-related incident between a driver and a store owner, which involved illegal firearms. Shortages in stores were reported due to a lack of deliveries until the boycott was officially lifted the following month.


Buenos Aires' Chinatown

Buenos Aires' Chinatown is a largely commercial section five blocks long and two blocks wide in the
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
of
Belgrano, Buenos Aires Belgrano is a northern ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is made up of Middle class, middle and upper class people. Belgrano has three distinct areas: the main one that is made up of apartment buil ...
. This neighborhood contains several
Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora, though other Chinese regional cuisine, regional cuisin ...
s, grocery stores, and a
Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
. It is the heart of the Chinese community in Argentina. The neighborhood began to develop in the 1980s when newly arrived
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
ese and Chinese immigrants settled in this area. The neighborhood is also known for its
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
celebrations.


Religion

Tzong Kuan Temple was founded in 1988 by Master Pu Hsien with the support of Buddhist community in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. The temple is located in the Belgrano area on Montañeses 2175 Street and has a congregation of five hundred members. The current abbot is Master Zhi Han, and the temple is also affiliated with the Chinese Buddhist Association in Argentina and Bodhiyana Foundation. Fo Guang Shan Order from Taiwan also has a branch temple, "Templo Budista Fo Guang Shan," in Argentina since 1992, and the temple offers courses in meditation, martial arts, and yoga and hosts vegetarian cooking workshops on a regular basis.


Notable Chinese-Argentines

*
Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasti ...
,
table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...
player. Pan American Gold Medalist. * Ignacio Huang, film actor. *Fernando Juan Yuan Ping, businessman, entrepreneur, politician.


See also

* Argentina–China relations * Argentina–Taiwan relations * Asian Argentines *
Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Argentine Asian diaspora in Argentina Ethnic groups in Argentina
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
Chinese diaspora in South America