Liverpool blues: the sad decline of Europe’s oldest Chinatown
Popularity of Chinese neighbourhood appears to have passed its peak, but plans for a metal and glass upgrade have failed to get off the ground, despite enthusiasm from investors – many of them from Hong Kong
The gateway to Liverpool’s Chinatown is a fitting tribute to Europe’s oldest Chinese community.
A gift from the northern English city’s twin, Shanghai, it was shipped over in pieces and assembled by Chinese master craftsmen. It is 3.5 metres tall, decorated with 200 dragons and one of the largest paifangs outside China.
But the feng shui powers of the arch’s bronze lions have not been strong enough to protect Nelson Street, Chinatown’s main road, from the onward marches of supermarkets, swanky shopping centres and changing food tastes.
“Chinatown used to be a place where people would gather on Sunday to shop,” said Wing Wai Wong, English secretary of one of the oldest community groups in Chinatown, the See Yep Association. “In the old days you could only get Chinese ginger and other groceries in Chinatown. Now the big supermarkets sell them. We are suffering like any other English high street.”
Nor has it been a strong enough draw for new customers from the more than 4,000 Chinese students who study in the city but tend to go to the more dynamic Chinatown in Manchester.