Chinatown is the name used forneighborhood in anycity outside ofChina where manyChineseimmigrants came to live together. Chinatowns became common in cities around the world after China lost the firstOpium War with theBritish Empire. After China lost, many Chinese people became poor, especially people living inGuangdongprovince. That was where most of the fighting took place. People from Guangdong went outside of China to look for work. They moved to places likeMalaysia,Singapore,Indonesia, and theUnited States. When Chinese people moved to these places, they usually lived close together in the city they were staying. These became Chinatowns.
Famous Chinatowns around the world include those inSan Francisco,New York City,Singapore andKuala Lumpur.
Most early immigrants came fromprovinces ofGuangdong andFujian insoutheastern China. The common languages there areToishanese,Cantonese,Hakka,Teochew, andHokkien. So, these are common languages in many Chinatowns. Also, since most Chinatowns were created before theChinese Communist Party took over mainland China, most Chinatowns usetraditional Chinese characters. However, bothsimplified and traditional characters are often seen in Chinatowns in Malaysia.[1]
