Chinese Venezuelans (, ) are people of

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The country is home to nearly 400,000 Chinese. P.201 Almost all their businesses are related to the culinary field.

History

The presence of Chinese people in the country can generally be traced back to three waves, beginning approximately in 1847, in which Chinese immigrants arrived, mainly from Canton (Guangdong). Since then, the presence of Chinese Venezuelans has been constantly increasing, becoming more pronounced in the decades of the

oil boom An oil boom is a period of large inflow of income as a result of high global oil prices or large oil production in an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economic benefits, in terms of increased GDP growth, but might later lead ...

lasting until 1999.

Economy

Until the mid-20th century, the Chinese community in Venezuela was primarily engaged in the laundry industry. One of the pioneers in this was José Peña, who adopted this name in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and later arrived in Venezuela between 1885 and 1886, opening the first Chinese-run laundry in Caracas. Likewise, the Sino-Venezuelan community has been known for its restaurants. For example, Joaquín Hau, who had arrived in Venezuela around 1928, started the first Chinese restaurant in Caracas with four nephews, which was called Chop Suey.

Gastronomy

Chinese food in Venezuela is predominantly of Cantonese origin and/or influence. While generally consumed traditionally within the Sino-Venezuelan community, Chinese restaurants will often offer dishes adapted to the Venezuelan palate. Similarly, these dishes have been influenced by the style of Sino-American cuisine, particularly that of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Among the most common dishes offered by Chinese restaurants in Venezuela are

lumpia ''Lumpia'' are various types of spring rolls commonly found in Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian and Filipino cuisine, Filipino cuisines. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crêpe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or ...

s, sweet and sour pork ribs,

fried rice Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dis ...

, and

chop suey Chop suey (usually pronounced ) is a dish from American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, generally consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bea ...

. However, some restaurants do offer a more varied menu.

Demographics

Population

States with the highest proportions of Chinese-born population tend to be those of the Capital Region and

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

. The states with the most population of Chinese-born people are also located in the central-north area. At the 2011 census, this was the breakdown of Chinese-born population by state:Censo 2011 - INE
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Communities with high percentages of Chinese-born people

Notable people

* Victor Fung (footballer) * Ludmila Vinogradoff

References

External links

Venezuela's Sabor y Suerte in Chinese Food
{{Overseas Chinese

Ethnic groups in Venezuela * China–Venezuela relations