Liverpool has one of the oldest established Chinese communities in Europe. The trade links between China and Britain via the ports of Shanghai and Liverpool were instrumental in the establishment of a Chinese community within the city. The main trading goods were silk and cotton wool. The first vessel arrived in Liverpool direct from China in 1834. With the revision of the East India Company's charter, the China trade was for the first time thrown open to private enterprise.
The first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in 1866 with the establishment of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line a branch of the Holt Ocean Steamship Company, which ran a line of steamers directly from Liverpool to China. Chinese sailors who decided to stay in Liverpool and work from here settled in an area of the city that was close to the docks in Cleveland Square.
It was here and in the surrounding streets that the first Chinese settlers started their own businesses supplying services to their countrymen who found themselves in a strange city, where the language and customs were alien. For example, they opened boarding-houses where the men could talk in their own language and be understood, cafes so that they could buy cooked food and shops where they could buy the necessary groceries to prepare their own meals. One of the first Chinese shops to open was in Pitt Street.
Marriages between Chinese men and local women were quite common in this period. The seamen were seen as being more responsible than their British counterparts in that they did not drink alcohol often or beat up their wives and they would support their families. The women were willing to help in their husbands' businesses in the shops and the laundries.
After World War One the settlement spread slowly inland into the side streets such as Cornwallis Street and Dickenson Street, Kent Street and Greetham Street. There were some fourteen places in Pitt Street where you could either eat or buy Chinese food, five of which were restaurants.
Some gambling houses opened along these streets which were mainly visited by those Chinese seamen who were required to stay on shore for a period. The time they spent in Liverpool could vary from two weeks to a month. Since there was no other entertainment for the seamen to spend their money on, they usually gathered in gambling establishments.
Efforts were made to try to stop the seamen from gambling away their wages. The Chinese Seamen's Welfare Centre was opened in 1917 in Bedford Street. It provided a place for them to gather, socialize, and hopefully get their attentions away from the gambling dens.
The demolition of the area known as Chinatown began as part of the 1930s council scheme to replace the old unsanitary courts and warehouses with modern buildings. Understandably, this plan met with some resistance from members of the community. It was at this time due to the general economic depression and immigration restrictions that the Chinese community in Liverpool saw a reduction in its population size. The bombing of Liverpool in the 1940s destroyed much of the Pitt Street and Cleveland Square area and hastened the demolition of old Chinatown.
In 1944 a plan was put forward in an effort to attract members of the community back into the heart of the city. A Chinese architectural student planned a new 12.5-acre Chinatown, including a pagoda and a Chinese garden. This idea was rejected on the grounds of cost by the City Council. Although, it was alleged that policy restricted gathering of minority groups.
Members of the community were moved into the new tenements in Kent Street, Pitt Street and Upper Frederick Street. These times saw the community undergo great upheaval but the spirit of the people remained positive and the intervening years saw them establish many new projects including: The Chinese Republican Club, The Chinese Language School, The Chinese Bank and The Chinese Seamans' Club amongst others.
With the demolition of slum housing and natural movement the Chinese community eventually settled around the Nelson Street area and since the 70's this is what is recognised as home to 'Chinatown' and its miriad of wonderful restaurants run by the descendants of the original settlers who are now part of this city's fabric. read more
