London Off the Beaten Path Tips by Blatherwick

It's not something that you would think of when you go to London but it does have a Chinatown. Gerrard Street in the late 50's was very cheap, and short leases could be found for next to nothing in the area between Shaftesbury Avenue and Leicester Square. At the same time thousands of agricultural workers from Hong Kong, forced out of their traditional occupations by changes in the world rice markets, began to arrive in Britain. With the booming catering trade, these new immigrants found immediate employment, often with tied accommodation. This is the foundation of the community. Today, in the streets you find Chinese shops and restaurants. The main street has pagodas at the beginning and the end of the street. A nice detail is that even the famous English phone boxes have roofs representing Chinese pagodas.

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Website: www.chinatown-online.co.uk