Chinatown, London

Chinatown is the busy Chinese quarter gathered around Gerrard Street, with restaurants, bakeries, food shops, souvenir businesses and other enterprises run by Chinese proprietors. Its story began elsewhere: London’s earliest Chinatown grew in Limehouse, where businesses served Chinese sailors visiting the docks. That district suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War, while this Soho-area quarter emerged in its present form during the 1970s.

The area had previously been a worn part of Soho, with Gerrard Street as its main route. Chinese restaurants had already begun appearing along nearby Lisle Street, and the district now contains more than 80 restaurants. A particularly striking marker is the Chinese gate on Wardour Street.

Chinese craftspeople made it, and it was put together in London before opening on 25 July 2016. Its design follows the Qing dynasty tradition. Chinatown also preserves a strong community role.

The London Chinatown Community Centre began here in 1980, founded by Dr Abraham Lue, and has provided help to 40,000 people since then. Look at the gate’s layered roofline and carved framework, then take in how this compact quarter combines food, commerce, migration and community life within a handful of streets.