Chinatown, Toronto
Encyclopedia
Chinatown is an ethnic enclave
in Downtown
Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West
and Spadina Avenue
. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatown
s in North America and one of several major Chinese-Canadian communities in the Greater Toronto Area
. There are approximately six Chinatown
s in Greater Toronto, including in the municipalities of Markham
and Mississauga.
Toronto's downtown Chinatown has two phases in its history since inception:
and its civil square, with only one third of this original Chinatown left south of Dundas.
Even with the strict limitations placed on Chinese immigration with the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
, the first Toronto Chinatown took shape into the early 1900s as hundreds of Chinese men settled close to Union Station after helping to build the Canadian Pacific Railway
across Canada. The men originally found lodgings close to the railway station due to its convenience.
By 1910, the Chinese population in Toronto numbered over a thousand. As in the rest of Canada and the US, due to entry resistance into other areas of employment the Chinese of Toronto had to resort to the labor of food service and washing laundry. In this time, hundreds of Chinese-owned businesses had developed, consisting mainly of restaurants, grocery stores and hand laundries. The Chinese laundries competed with the other Torontonian laundries leading to publically called boycotts and demands for the city government to cancel or withhold business licenses from Chinese operators. By the 1930s, Chinatown was a firmly established and well-defined community that extended along Bay Street
between Dundas Street and Queen Street. Like the rest of the country, Chinatown suffered a severe downturn in the Great Depression
, with the closing of more than 116 hand laundries and hundreds of other businesses. The community began to recover after World War II as Canada's general economic fortunes improved. The Chinese population greatly increased between 1947 and 1960 to around as the wives and descendants of the Chinese men already in Canada immigrated to the city after the country's Chinese exclusion act
began to be lifted in 1967. In the following decades, students and skilled workers arrived from Hong Kong
, Guangdong
and Chinese communities in Southeast Asia
and the West Indies further increased the Chinese population leading to the creating of communities towards cities in the east of Toronto.
When plans emerged in the late 1950s to construct the new Toronto City Hall
at the intersection of Queen and Bay Streets, it became clear that most of Chinatown would be displaced by the project. As Chinese businesses began to relocate, some stores were taken over by other developers, and most stores that occupied the project site were cleared through expropriation. More than two-thirds of Elizabeth Street from Queen to Dundas Streets were destroyed. Construction on City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square
began in 1961.
Due in part to the high land value in the area of Chinatown, city planners in 1967 proposed that the rest of the first Chinatown be demolished and the population moved for the development of office buildings north of City Hall. This endangered many more businesses, and even with the support of most Torontonians to save this part of Chinatown, the city was adamant to clear the buildings arguing that preserving Chinatown would turn it into a ghetto. At this time, community leaders including Jean Lumb established the "Save Chinatown Committee", with Lumb acting as coordinator and face of the campaign. She later received the Order of Canada in 1976 for her role in helping to save Chinatown. In 1970 and again in 1975, the Toronto officials proposed to demolish the Dundas Street portions of Chinatown for the expansion of the street to six lanes, however due to community protests the proposals were quashed.
The present day old Chinatown along Spadina was formerly a Jewish district. With the influx of Chinese immigration during the 1960s due to the lifting of Canada's racial exclusion policies, Chinese businesses expanded in this area.
Following the demolition of first Chinatown, the existing first Chinatown community migrated westward to the neighborhood around Spadina Chinatown's current location centered bounded by Spadina Avenue, Dundas Street, College Street and University Avenue. A handful of Chinese businesses still remain around Bay and Dundas. Chinatown approximately covers a long, narrow stretch of area centred around Spadina Avenue from Oxford Street in the north to Phoebe Street in the south, with its epicentre at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West.
Toronto's Chinatown is one of the largest in North America. It is centred on the intersection of Dundas Street West
and Spadina Avenue
, and extends outward from this point along both streets. With the population changes of recent decades, it has come to reflect a diverse set of East Asian cultures through its shops and restaurants, including Chinese
, Vietnamese
, and Thai. The major Chinese malls in the area are Dragon City and Chinatown Centre.
Since the 1990s, Chinatown has been struggling to redefine itself in the face of an ageing Chinese population and the declining number of tourists visiting the enclave. As the ageing population shrank, revenues of businesses in the neighbourhood also decreased. While the majority of the grocery stores and shops remain, most of the once-famed restaurants on Dundas Street West, especially the barbecue shops located below grade, have closed since 2000.
Competition from commercial developments in suburban Chinese communities also drew wealth and professional immigrants away from downtown. Unlike those newer developments in the suburbs, Chinatown's economy relies heavily on tourism and Chinese seniors. As many younger, higher-income immigrants settled elsewhere in the city, those left in the district are typically from older generations who depend on downtown's dense concentration of services and accessibility to public transportation. Ethnic Chinese from Vietnam
are now the faces of Toronto's old Chinatown and turning some parts into Little Saigon. Latin American immigrants are also moving into Toronto's old Chinatown.
In the 2000s, downtown neighbourhoods became more attractive to urban professionals and young people who work in the Financial District
, leading to the gentrification
of surrounding areas and potentially changing the face of old Chinatown.
Historically, Toronto's Chinatown has been represented by immigrants and families from southern China and Hong Kong
. Since the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to the People's Republic of China
in 1997, immigrants from mainland China
have greatly exceeded those from Hong Kong. However, at present Cantonese remains the primary language used by businesses and restaurants in Chinatown. The Chinese immigrant population now consists of distinct subgroups: while some Vietnamese Chinese, who generally arrived as impoverished refugees, continue to reside in old Chinatown, others now live in suburban Mississauga; the wealthy Hong Kong Chinese now tend to settle in Markham and Richmond Hill. Among new immigrants, those who settle in the historic Chinatown tend to be Mainland Chinese.
To the east of Spadina Avenue, numerous university students attending the University of Toronto
, the Ontario College of Art and Design, and Ryerson University
live in many of the small houses built as workers' housing. The area to the west has seen a surge in Latin American immigrants. The diversity brings a more multicultural flavour to the district, but may gradually reduce or eliminate its identity as Chinatown.
A number of streets in Chinatown are bilingual, a feature first introduced in the 1970s. The translations are mainly phonetic and use Chinese characters defined through Cantonese pronunciations.
As property values increased in downtown Chinatown, many Chinese Canadians migrated to Toronto's east end in Riverdale
. A second, somewhat smaller, Chinese community was formed, centred on Gerrard Street East between Broadview Avenue and Carlaw Avenue 43.6666144°N 79.3472958°W. Chinese-Vietnamese and mainland Chinese
immigrants dominate this district. East Chinatown is somewhat smaller than Toronto's main Chinatown, but is growing. At the northernmost corner of East Chinatown (northwest corner, Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street) is the Riverdale branch of the Toronto Public Library
. This branch is bilingual
in Chinese and English. East Chinatown can be accessed by the 504 King, the 505 Dundas, or the 506 Carlton Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) streetcars
. Construction on the Toronto Chinese Archway
began in the western end of East Chinatown on November 24, 2008 and it opened to the public on September 12, 2009.
film The Corruptor
was set in the New York City Chinatown, with scenes filmed in the Chinatowns of New York and Toronto.
The television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
was filmed in Chinatown at Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West for many episodes of its 1993–97 run. Filmed in Toronto, it portrays the Chinatown of an unidentified major U.S. city.
Toronto's Chinatown is featured prominently in the 2008 collection of short stories The Chinese Knot and Other Stories by Lien Chao.
Toronto band Do Make Say Think
have a song titled "Chinatown" on their 2002 album & Yet & Yet
.
Ethnic enclave
An ethnic enclave is an ethnic community which retains some cultural distinction from a larger, surrounding area, it may be a neighborhood, an area or an administrative division based on ethnic groups. Sometimes an entire city may have such a feel. Usually the enclave revolves around businesses...
in Downtown
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
and Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
s in North America and one of several major Chinese-Canadian communities in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
. There are approximately six Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
s in Greater Toronto, including in the municipalities of Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
and Mississauga.
History
Toronto's Chinatown first appeared during the 1870s with the migration of American Chinese from California due to racial conflict and from the Eastern United States due to the depression at the time. The earliest record of Toronto's Chinese community is traced to Sam Ching, who owned a hand laundry business on Adelaide Street in 1878. Ching was the first Chinese person listed in the city's directory.Toronto's downtown Chinatown has two phases in its history since inception:
- First Chinatown (1870s-1961): The original Chinatown was centered near present-day Elizabeth and Hagerman street (43.6539938°N 79.3846643°W). In the 1950s, properties in the First Chinatown were bought-out or expropriated in a controversial manner by the city for the construction of Nathan Phillips SquareNathan Phillips SquareNathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza that forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square opened in 1965, and, as with the City Hall, the square was...
. - Old Chinatown (1950s-Present): The present downtown Chinatown is centered at Spadina Avenue and Dundas street (43.6529458°N 79.3980432°W). Although a small Chinese community was already present in this location prior to the 1950s, the "old" Chinatown was formed mainly when businesses with the financial ability moved from the First Chinatown to the Spadina location.
First Chinatown
The first Chinatown of Toronto existed from the 1870s to 1961 along York Street and Elizabeth Street between Queen and Dundas street within Toronto's Ward district. Most of the space is now occupied by the new Toronto City HallToronto City Hall
The City Hall of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the home of the city's municipal government and one of its most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965...
and its civil square, with only one third of this original Chinatown left south of Dundas.
Even with the strict limitations placed on Chinese immigration with the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 placed a head tax on all Chinese immigrants coming to Canada, forcing them to pay a fifty dollar fee to enter the country. In 1900, the fee was raised to one hundred dollars...
, the first Toronto Chinatown took shape into the early 1900s as hundreds of Chinese men settled close to Union Station after helping to build the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
across Canada. The men originally found lodgings close to the railway station due to its convenience.
By 1910, the Chinese population in Toronto numbered over a thousand. As in the rest of Canada and the US, due to entry resistance into other areas of employment the Chinese of Toronto had to resort to the labor of food service and washing laundry. In this time, hundreds of Chinese-owned businesses had developed, consisting mainly of restaurants, grocery stores and hand laundries. The Chinese laundries competed with the other Torontonian laundries leading to publically called boycotts and demands for the city government to cancel or withhold business licenses from Chinese operators. By the 1930s, Chinatown was a firmly established and well-defined community that extended along Bay Street
Bay Street
Bay Street, originally known as Bear Street, is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Street in that role in the 1970s...
between Dundas Street and Queen Street. Like the rest of the country, Chinatown suffered a severe downturn in the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, with the closing of more than 116 hand laundries and hundreds of other businesses. The community began to recover after World War II as Canada's general economic fortunes improved. The Chinese population greatly increased between 1947 and 1960 to around as the wives and descendants of the Chinese men already in Canada immigrated to the city after the country's Chinese exclusion act
Chinese Immigration Act, 1923
The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known in the Chinese Canadian community as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of Canada, banning most forms of Chinese immigration to Canada...
began to be lifted in 1967. In the following decades, students and skilled workers arrived from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and Chinese communities in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and the West Indies further increased the Chinese population leading to the creating of communities towards cities in the east of Toronto.
When plans emerged in the late 1950s to construct the new Toronto City Hall
Toronto City Hall
The City Hall of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the home of the city's municipal government and one of its most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965...
at the intersection of Queen and Bay Streets, it became clear that most of Chinatown would be displaced by the project. As Chinese businesses began to relocate, some stores were taken over by other developers, and most stores that occupied the project site were cleared through expropriation. More than two-thirds of Elizabeth Street from Queen to Dundas Streets were destroyed. Construction on City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza that forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square opened in 1965, and, as with the City Hall, the square was...
began in 1961.
Due in part to the high land value in the area of Chinatown, city planners in 1967 proposed that the rest of the first Chinatown be demolished and the population moved for the development of office buildings north of City Hall. This endangered many more businesses, and even with the support of most Torontonians to save this part of Chinatown, the city was adamant to clear the buildings arguing that preserving Chinatown would turn it into a ghetto. At this time, community leaders including Jean Lumb established the "Save Chinatown Committee", with Lumb acting as coordinator and face of the campaign. She later received the Order of Canada in 1976 for her role in helping to save Chinatown. In 1970 and again in 1975, the Toronto officials proposed to demolish the Dundas Street portions of Chinatown for the expansion of the street to six lanes, however due to community protests the proposals were quashed.
Old Chinatown
Following the demolition of first Chinatown, the existing first Chinatown community migrated westward to the neighborhood around Spadina Chinatown's current location centered bounded by Spadina Avenue, Dundas Street, College Street and University Avenue. A handful of Chinese businesses still remain around Bay and Dundas. Chinatown approximately covers a long, narrow stretch of area centred around Spadina Avenue from Oxford Street in the north to Phoebe Street in the south, with its epicentre at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West.
Economy
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
and Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
, and extends outward from this point along both streets. With the population changes of recent decades, it has come to reflect a diverse set of East Asian cultures through its shops and restaurants, including Chinese
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
, Vietnamese
Cuisine of Vietnam
Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam. Fish sauce and paste, soy paste, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables are commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves...
, and Thai. The major Chinese malls in the area are Dragon City and Chinatown Centre.
Since the 1990s, Chinatown has been struggling to redefine itself in the face of an ageing Chinese population and the declining number of tourists visiting the enclave. As the ageing population shrank, revenues of businesses in the neighbourhood also decreased. While the majority of the grocery stores and shops remain, most of the once-famed restaurants on Dundas Street West, especially the barbecue shops located below grade, have closed since 2000.
Competition from commercial developments in suburban Chinese communities also drew wealth and professional immigrants away from downtown. Unlike those newer developments in the suburbs, Chinatown's economy relies heavily on tourism and Chinese seniors. As many younger, higher-income immigrants settled elsewhere in the city, those left in the district are typically from older generations who depend on downtown's dense concentration of services and accessibility to public transportation. Ethnic Chinese from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
are now the faces of Toronto's old Chinatown and turning some parts into Little Saigon. Latin American immigrants are also moving into Toronto's old Chinatown.
In the 2000s, downtown neighbourhoods became more attractive to urban professionals and young people who work in the Financial District
Financial District, Toronto
The Financial District is a business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, within the downtown core. It was originally planned as New Town in 1796 as an extension of the Town of York . It is the main financial district in Toronto, and is the financial heart of Canada...
, leading to the gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of surrounding areas and potentially changing the face of old Chinatown.
Demographics
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Since the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1997, immigrants from mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
have greatly exceeded those from Hong Kong. However, at present Cantonese remains the primary language used by businesses and restaurants in Chinatown. The Chinese immigrant population now consists of distinct subgroups: while some Vietnamese Chinese, who generally arrived as impoverished refugees, continue to reside in old Chinatown, others now live in suburban Mississauga; the wealthy Hong Kong Chinese now tend to settle in Markham and Richmond Hill. Among new immigrants, those who settle in the historic Chinatown tend to be Mainland Chinese.
To the east of Spadina Avenue, numerous university students attending the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, the Ontario College of Art and Design, and Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
live in many of the small houses built as workers' housing. The area to the west has seen a surge in Latin American immigrants. The diversity brings a more multicultural flavour to the district, but may gradually reduce or eliminate its identity as Chinatown.
Translation of street names
- Baldwin Street - 寶雲街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Bǎo Yún Jiē)
- Beverley Street - 比華利街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Bǐ Huá Lì Jiē)
- Cecil Street - 施素街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Shī Sù Jiē)
- College StreetCollege Street (Toronto)College Street is a principal arterial thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, connecting former streetcar suburbs in the west with the city centre. The street is home to an ethnically diverse population in the western residential reaches, and institutions like the Ontario Legislature and the University...
- 書院街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Shūyuàn Jiē) - D’Arcy Street - 達士街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Dá Shì Jiē)
- Dundas Street WestDundas Street (Toronto)Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
- 登打士西街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Dēng Dǎ Shì Xī Jiē) - Glasgow Street - 嘉士高街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Jiā Shì Gāo Jiē)
- Huron Street - 休倫街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Xiū Lún Jiē)
- McCaul Street - 麥歌盧街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Mài Gē Lú Jiē)
- Phoebe Street - 菲比街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Fēi Bǐ Jiē) Xī Jiē)
- Ross Street - 羅士街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Luó Shì Jiē)
- Spadina AvenueSpadina AvenueSpadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
- 士巴丹拿道 (Hanyu Pinyin: Shì Bā Dān Ná Dào) - Stephanie Street - 史蒂芬尼街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Shǐ Dì Fēn Ní Jiē)
- Sullivan Street - 蘇利雲街 (Hanyu Pinyin: Sū Lì Yún Jiē)
East Chinatown
Riverdale, Toronto
Riverdale is a large neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by the Don River Valley to the west, Danforth Avenue and Greektown to the north, Jones Avenue, the CN/GO tracks, and Leslieville to the east, and Lake Shore Boulevard to the south....
. A second, somewhat smaller, Chinese community was formed, centred on Gerrard Street East between Broadview Avenue and Carlaw Avenue 43.6666144°N 79.3472958°W. Chinese-Vietnamese and mainland Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
immigrants dominate this district. East Chinatown is somewhat smaller than Toronto's main Chinatown, but is growing. At the northernmost corner of East Chinatown (northwest corner, Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street) is the Riverdale branch of the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
. This branch is bilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
in Chinese and English. East Chinatown can be accessed by the 504 King, the 505 Dundas, or the 506 Carlton Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
(TTC) streetcars
Toronto streetcar system
The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission , and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in...
. Construction on the Toronto Chinese Archway
Paifang
Paifang, also called pailou, is a traditional Chinese architectural gating style as an archway.The word paifang originally was a collective term used to describe the top two levels of administrative division and subdivisions of ancient Chinese city. The largest division within a city in ancient...
began in the western end of East Chinatown on November 24, 2008 and it opened to the public on September 12, 2009.
In popular culture
The 1999 Chow Yun-fatChow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
film The Corruptor
The Corruptor
The Corruptor is a 1999 American action thriller film directed by James Foley, and starring Chow Yun-fat and Mark Wahlberg.-Plot:NYPD Lieutenant Nick Chen is one of New York City's police officers and is head of the Asian Gang Unit...
was set in the New York City Chinatown, with scenes filmed in the Chinatowns of New York and Toronto.
The television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,...
was filmed in Chinatown at Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West for many episodes of its 1993–97 run. Filmed in Toronto, it portrays the Chinatown of an unidentified major U.S. city.
Toronto's Chinatown is featured prominently in the 2008 collection of short stories The Chinese Knot and Other Stories by Lien Chao.
Toronto band Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think is a Canadian instrumental post-rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their music combines jazz style drums, distorted guitars and wind instruments, as well as a prominent use of the bass guitar.-Biography:...
have a song titled "Chinatown" on their 2002 album & Yet & Yet
& Yet & Yet
& Yet & Yet was the third album by Do Make Say Think and was released in March 2002 by Constellation Records."Chinatown" was featured on the soundtrack for Stephen Gaghan's Syriana.- Track listing :All tracks by Do Make Say Think...
.
See also
- List of Chinatowns
- Agincourt, TorontoAgincourt, TorontoAgincourt is a very diverse neighbourhood in the Scarborough district of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads...
- usually considered Toronto's second Chinatown - List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
- Standard TheatreStandard Theatre (Toronto)The Standard Theatre was a theatre in Toronto that originated as the city's main venue for Yiddish theatre, and later became the Victory Burlesque, the only burlesque theatre in Toronto. It was located at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street....