There are 120,250

Chinese people The Chinese people, or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with Greater China, China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, comprising 1.5% of the city's population. 33% of ethnic Chinese people in the United Kingdom reside in London. As of 2000, more recent ethnic Chinese arrivals originated from

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, Taiwan, and Vietnam while historically Chinese had migrated 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 ...

, including the urbanised areas and the

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

; Singapore; Malaysia; and elsewhere in southeast Asia.

History

According to John Eade, a Chinese community representative stated that in the 1780s Chinese sailors visited London, making them the first Chinese to do so. In the latter half of the 1800s the first wave of Chinese immigrants came to London. Chinese lived in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

by the time

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

occurred. Since Hong Kong was a British territory, many Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong as well as

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

(which were, and still are, very similar in terms of economy and geography) were either brought over or travelled to London and subsequently the rest of the U.K. Another wave of Chinese immigration occurred in London during the 1950s and 1960s. The London economy prompted Chinese from many places to move, while changes in international rice markets prompted some Chinese from the

of Hong Kong to move to London. During the same era, many Chinese moved from

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

to Soho. In the 1970s and 1980s many Chinese working in Soho continued to work there but began moving to suburbs. Non-Chinese began replacing the Chinese in Soho in the 1980s. As of the late 1980s Soho remained the centre of the London Chinese community. The Chinese were not involved in the development of the Soho LGBT community.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census,

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

included 124,250 British Chinese, making up 1.5% of the overall population. The borough of Barnet had the highest population with a Chinese ethnic group followed by

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, with Camden ranking second by local proportion. The report ''London's Population and the 2011 Census: First Report Session 2009-10, Report, Together with Formal Minutes and Oral and Written Evidence'' stated that among recent migrants from China "many work long hours in the unregulated sector and many are entirely, and consensually, disenfranchised from public life in London." Few of the Chinese migrants had formal leases or ownership of property. At the time, there were low levels of English literacy among the migrants. John Eade, author of ''Placing London: From Imperial Capital to Global City'', wrote that "Chinatown remained one of the most important symbolic centres of community for Chinese across Britain."

Institutions

There are Chinese community centres in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, Barnet, Camden,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and

. Major organisations include the London Chinese Community Centre, London Chinatown Chinese Association, Islington Chinese Association, Kingston Chinese Association and the London Chinese Cultural Centre. The Ming-Ai (London) Institute focuses on better integrating the London's Chinese community with the wider London community. This is achieved by providing opportunities for British people to learn more about Chinese culture and raising awareness to issues which affecting Overseas Chinese. The Islington Chinese Association (ICA) is present in London.

Education

The Westminster Chinese Library, based at the Charing Cross Library (), holds one of the largest collections of Chinese materials in UK public libraries. It has a collection of over 50,000 Chinese books available for loan and reference to local readers of Chinese; music cassettes, CDs, and video films for loan; community information and general enquiries; a national subscription service of Chinese books; and Chinese events organised from time to time. The library also hosted a photography exhibition in 2013 as part of the British Chinese Heritage project, with photographs and stories of Chinese workers.

Recreation

The London Dragon Boat Festival is held annually in June at the

London Regatta Centre London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Royal Albert Docks. It is organised by the London Chinatown Lions Club.

Politics

The Chinese for Labour Group (renamed "East and Southeast Asians for Labour") was formed in 1999 to represent the interests of Chinese people in the Labour Party and improve the quality of life of Chinese communities in Britain. Its current chair is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. She is the first MP of South East Asian descent and the first female MP o ...

, it was co-founded and formerly chaired by Sonny Leong, and it lists

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

professor Stephen Chan as an extraordinary ambassador. Conservative Friends of the Chinese is chaired by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Parliamentary Chairman) and Lord Wei of Shoreditch (Nat Wei).

References

Notes

Bibliography

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