The Rise of Manchester Chinatown

Between 1773 and 1801, the population of Manchester quadrupled in size from 22,500 to 84,000 inhabitants as people flooded in from rural areas, as well as from countries abroad, such as Ireland, looking for work and a better way of life. What greeted them in Manchester city centre was a filthy slum with poor housing and terrible conditions for workers. In 1857 the area now known as Chinatown was described as a slum area. In 1915 T. F. Tout described the Scientific and Medical Society (later to become Owens College Medical School) on Faulkner Street as being located in 'a squalid and noisy slum'.

Origins of Chinatown

Chinatown Manchester covers an area south of the city centre bordered by Charlotte Street, Mosley Street, Portland Street and Princess Street. The area was first built in 1786 around the church of St. James, and streets were named after royal members, e.g. Queen Charlotte and King George 3rd. In the eighteenth century, many prestigious buildings were located in this area, namely the Literary and Philosophical Society on George Street and the Scientific and Medical Society (later to become Owens College Medical School) on Faulkner Street.

This trend continued into the nineteenth century with the opening of the Portico Library in 1806 and the Royal Manchester Institution (now the City Art Gallery) in 1835, both on Mosley Street and the Athenaeum on Princess Street in 1837.

The buildings in Chinatown are predominantly old cotton warehouses from the 19th century which became vacant following the Cotton Famine in the 1860s, which the American Civil War brought about.

The empty buildings were cheap to rent or buy and became part of the developing city, used in various ways, such as shops and offices. Chinatown developed from the original Chinese restaurants, which moved into empty premises in the area in the 1970s and came about as the number of Chinese businesses increased greatly to serve the growing Chinese community.

A succession of restaurants opened from the late 50s to the mid-1970s, namely Mogambo Cafe (late 50s), Hong Kong Cafe (1960s), Kwok Man, which was established by Lai Kim Fat (1960s), Sun Ho (1966), Charlie Chan's (1972) and Yang Sing (1977). Of these, Kwok Man and Yang Sing are still open today.

曼城唐人街的崛起

在1773年至1801年间,由于乡下人和爱尔兰等国的移民涌至曼城找工作,曼城的人口增长了四倍,从原来的22500增长到84000。1915年,T. F. Tout 描述了今天的唐人街一带,认为该地区是一个杂乱无章、乌烟瘴气的贫民窟。

曼彻斯特唐人街位于市中心的南部。它由Charlotte大街、Mosley大街、Portland大街和Princess大街连接而成。它始建于1786年,地处圣詹姆士大教堂一带,街名都是以王室成员名字命名,如夏洛特女王大街和乔治三世大街。18、19世纪,许多著名的建筑坐落于该地区,如1806年修建的波蒂科图书馆,1835年建的皇家曼城研究院(即现今的曼城市美术馆),都坐落于Mosley大街。

唐人街的大多数建筑都是19世纪遗留下来的老棉花仓库。因为19世纪60年代美国内战导致了棉花慌,很多仓库就闲置了下来。

很多建筑被贱卖或廉价租出,也成了城市改造发展的一部分,其用途很广,有的成了商铺,有的则成了办公室。上个世纪70年代,华人在这一带闲置的建筑里开起了中餐馆。后来,因为华人群体不断壮大,各种商业经营也出现了,唐人街便也初具规模。

50-70年代初期,中餐馆也相继在此开业,如1972年陈炎庭的中餐馆 ,1968年由Lai Kim Fat从叶氏家族手中接管的国民楼餐厅和1977年开业的羊城中餐馆。至今,国民楼和羊城一直仍然对外营业。1973年,第一家中国超市“和生行”开业,随后1977年“荣业行”也在Faulkner 大街开业了。陈延炎太平绅士,OBE是第一个在唐人街的翻译员。

到了80年代,唐人街得到了蓬勃发展,餐馆、超市、理发店、中医药诊所等各种商店应有尽有,生意兴隆。李靠奇、陈来、陈延炎JP,OBE、崔志强、温石喜和陈新平都是唐人街发展过程中的关键人物。因为他们不懈的努力,在70年代中期成立了第一所社区中文学校。1986开办了曼城市立图书馆及1987年树立了欧洲首座规模最大的中国牌坊。

1984年至1987年,唐人街发行了英国首本中文杂志,那就是有Simon Jones先生创办的“丝语”杂志。

从2004年开始,最受欢迎的杂志就是 William Ong的唐人街杂志,它专门描述了英国西北部地区华人生活的点点滴滴。

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Address

Manchester Chinese Centre
67 Ardwick Green
Manchester
M12 6FX

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Contact

+44 (0) 161 275 9885

info@manchesterchinesecentre.org.uk

Charity Information

Manchester Chinese Centre is a company limited by guarantee (Reg No. 5641623) and a registered charity (Reg No. 1114121).

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