By Jeryl Wong (Volunteer for Chinese Fortunes Oral History Project)

Britain began trading with China in the 17th century and a small Chinese community grew in and around Limehouse in the East End of London from the 1880s onwards, catering to the needs of the Chinese sailors who worked on board East India Company ships and on the docks. Chinese sailors and traders settled and Chinese businesses, shops and cafes soon began to spring up. Limehouse became known as the first Chinatown in London.

There were two linguistic communities side by side – a Cantonese community in Limehouse Causeway and a Shanghainese community in Pennyfields and Ming Street. Many sailors lived in boarding houses whilst they waited for a return ship to China or they worked on the docks loading and unloading goods from merchant ships. The earliest Chinese settlers were almost exclusively men and, because of the lack of local Chinese women, they married or formed relationships with British working class women. Shops, restaurants, boarding houses, civic associations and a Chinese school were established.

There were strong objections to the use of cheap Chinese labour. In 1909 British seamen prevented them signing on and a police escort was required to get the Chinese seamen back to their lodgings safely. During the First World War protest meetings continued about the increasing use of Chinese men on board British ships.

One of the first Chinese laundries in Britain opened in Limehouse but the success of Chinese laundries often brought resentment because they were frequently quite successful as they offered a cheaper and often better service.

Between the Great World War and the 1930s, misrepresentation of the Chinese in Limehouse by the local press and popular writers of the time fuelled growing prejudice. People were warned about falling prey to Chinatown’s vices, namely gambling houses and opium dens. There was talk about the “Yellow Peril” and this was personified in the diabolical character Dr Fu Manchu who was bent on world domination and destroying white civilization.

The public believed that the Limehouse Chinatown portrayed in the lurid books of Sax Rohmer and Thomas Burke was reality. So much so that the area became a popular destination for thrill seekers and the travel agent, Thomas Cook, organized tours through the streets of Limehouse. In no small part thanks to Thomas Burke and his contemporary, Sax Rohmer, what had been a largely unnoticed Chinese immigrant population now found itself under public scrutiny. The vast majority of the Chinese who lived in Limehouse were ordinary families who spent no time in opium dens as depicted in these novels.

During the Blitz of World War II Limehouse was heavily bombed and much of the housing destroyed. Many Chinese were forced out to the relative safety of the West End or the suburbs. After the war, the British shipping industry also went into decline and many of the Chinese sailors returned home and Limehouse became an area of high unemployment and poverty. Also, with the advent of launderettes and washing machines at home, Chinese laundries were forced to close and a new form of employment was required. So post-war London’s Chinese community was short of income and even shorter of a place to live.

In the 1950s Soho was a seedy area of London but rents were cheap and affordable and it was a magnet for immigrant communities. Servicemen returning from various parts of the Empire had also developed tastes for different cuisines and there was a growing interest in Chinese food and cuisine. So gradually Chinese businessmen began to open restaurants and establish a new Chinatown on Gerrard Street and ‘going for a Chinese’ became a staple in British social culture.

At the same time, large numbers of Chinese began arriving from Hong Kong in search of employment. As Hong Kong was a British colony, they could claim British nationality. Limited English was no barrier to working in a Chinese restaurant and working amongst your own meant that you did not suffer from discrimination when seeking employment. As new Chinese people arrived in London, Gerrard Street became their first port of call and over time civic institutions and organizations sprang up to support and assist the Chinese community.

During the swinging 60s, Soho continued to be known for its nightlife, clubs, gambling dens and a growing number of Chinese restaurants. With the opening of Cheung Lin and Loon Fung supermarkets Chinese food products became easier to buy and, for Chinese families, this meant they could do their weekly shop. These days you only have to go into Tesco if you need soy sauce, oyster sauce or rice. Back then, it was reported that sometimes chefs had to use diluted marmite as a substitute for soy sauce.

In the 1970s the number of Chinese businesses in the Gerrard Street area increased significantly. There were beauty parlours, hairdressers, bookshops, a printing company, travel agents and a dentist to help service the needs of the Chinese community, as well as more restaurants. Soho gradually became the centre of London’s Chinatown.

In the 1980s Westminster Council, in consultation with the London Chinatown Chinese Association, pedestrianized the area adding three ceremonial gates, stone lions to protect the area – a gift from the Chinese Embassy – and gingko trees which are a symbol of longevity. The street names became bilingual – written in both English and traditional Chinese script. Later on a classical wooden gate, crafted by Chinese artisans, was erected in Wardour Street. The Chinese New Year celebration, with lion dances and martial art display, was extended to Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square in order to accommodate the increasing number of spectators and tourists.

Today Chinatown attracts millions of visitors from abroad each year and it is on all the tourist maps. It is an iconic part of the capital’s culture right in the middle of Central London. More and more businessmen are coming from Mainland China to run restaurants and set up other businesses. The use of Mandarin is slowly overtaking the importance of Cantonese in Chinatown. Chinatown is still a major culinary destination offering not only Cantonese cuisine but also Northern, Sichuan and other regional cuisines. Bubble teashops as well as hot pot restaurants have sprung up and are a magnet for the growing number of Chinese students studying in London. Meanwhile, many new Chinese restaurants and businesses have been opened in other parts of London, in places such as Colindale, Greenwich, Stratford and so on. The oldest Chinese restaurant in Newham is the Chan’s Restaurant in Manor Park. Opened in 1941 and despite the changes taking place elsewhere it still stands today, offering good quality delicious dishes to local diners and takeaway customers.

On the downside, the original restaurateurs are approaching retirement age and their offspring no longer want to work the long unsociable hours of their parents. They aspire to a better life. Strict immigration laws mean that there is a shortage of Chinese chefs; rents are increasing each year and many restaurant owners complain the rents are no longer affordable. The restrictions imposed by COVID-19 will also have an impact on Chinatown and Chinese businesses in other parts of London.

Further reading

• Chloe-Rose Crabtree (2018) A Short History of London’s Chinatown
• Culture Trip (27 July)
• London Chinese Community Network (2005) The Changing Chinese Community in London: Meeting the Challenges in Service Provision in 2010. A research report.
• Jones D (1979) The Chinese in Britain: Origins and development of a community. New Community Vol. 2 No 13 Pp397 – 402.
• Lam T, Sales R, D’Angelo A, Lin X, Montagna N (2009) The Changing Chinese community in London: new migration, new needs. School of Health & Social Sciences, Middlesex University Research Report, London.