China Town

Just a thought with the ever increasing chinese student population in the city. Do you think a China Town would be successful in cardiff and if so where abouts would ot be? There were quite a few restaurants and shops down by St.Davids hospital but some have also closed.

Aren't the idea of something like a Chinatown a bit of a relic from a ghetto based past. More integrated communities are the modern ideal.

yeah, enclaves are a sign of poor integration into society.

Integration IS poor though. There are several private student accommodation blocks in Cardiff that are mostly Chinese residents.

But I don't see anything wrong with a modern Chinatown development which would showcase Chinese culture, with restaurants and shops. That's something which would attract everyone, not just Chinese people.

Absolutely!! There are wonderful China town areas in most modern cities around the world (Singapore, Sydney, San Francisco, etc), so I don't think it would be a negative thing having one in Cardiff.

The majority of famous Chinatowns are centuries old and grew at some level organically or possibly out of necessity. I think if Cardiff put one together now it would seem very false. I'm quite happy with our Chinese restaurants being more evenly spread. Cardiff has a long history of immigration with many nationalities mixed in together (particularly in Tiger Bay).

Newtown was one enclave and it's a shame there's only a small amount of Irish history remaining there, but I don't think a faux Chinese arch in an arbitrary location would be a great step forward. If the Chinese population want it, or an enterprising businessperson finds a niche for services for the Asian students though fair enough.

I couldn't ever see a Chinatown as a sign of poor integration, more of a celebration of Chinese culture as suggested above - but I also agree that if it's a 'forced' Chinatown, it might feel quite false and would lose all sense of authenticity. These sort of areas need to originate from the Chinese community naturally rather than be planned.

The majority of famous Chinatowns are centuries old and grew at some level organically or possibly out of necessity.

I'm pretty sure London's Chinatown (as we know it now) has always been primarily a tourist destination celebrating Chinese culture.

Does Cardiff have a large enough Chinese population to create a Chinatown? Birmingham is three times the size and it's "Chinese Quarter" isn't that large. I think something 1\3 the size of that wouldn't really be up to much.

London's current Chinatown grew organically in the 70s, the original was in the east London docks and had been hit during the blitz. Like the whole of central London it's full of tourists (that's something I don't miss about London!) but it does serve as a hub for the Chinese population and visitors.

Cardiff has a long history of immigration with many nationalities mixed in together (particularly in Tiger Bay).

Cardiff also has a history of anti-Chinese riots! Chinese laundries were targets in the 1919 riots.

The closest thing Cardiff had to a Chinatown was Tudor Street which at one time had a dozen or so Chinese businesses. The gables on some of the late 20th century flats reflect thet heritage. IIRC there were plans in the 1980s or 90s for a Chinese gate at the west end of Wood Street bridge but nothing ever came of them.