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Viet Nam Towns
Little Saigon Vietnam Town Little Saigon In Australia
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Little Saigon - Vietnam Towns in U. S. CaliforniaLittle Saigon (Orange County, CA)Little Saigon Businesses, Restaurants, Grocery Supermarkets, Media, Entertainment Centers The well-established and largest Little Saigons are located in Orange County, California, Houston, Texas, and San Jose, California, although somewhat smaller Vietnamese American enclaves have cropped up, including the comparatively nascent Vietnamese commercial districts in San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento, California as well as in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, Vietnamese Americans of Chinese lineage have also established businesses and bringing distinctively Vietnamese elements to most Chinatowns, essentially blurring the line between a "Chinatown" and a "Little Saigon"; some examples would include the Chinatowns of Las Vegas, Boston, Massachusetts , Houston, Texas (Bellaire Chinatown)or Honolulu, Hawaii. This article below deals exclusively with the "Little Saigons" within the United States of America; for other "Little Saigons" and similar Vietnamese communities outside Vietnam, refer to the Viet Kieu article. The oldest, largest, and most prominent Little Saigon is in Westminster and Garden Grove in Orange County, California, where Vietnamese Americans constitute 30.7% and 21.4% of the population, respectively, as of the 2000 Census. Whereas ethnic Vietnamese are predominant in this population, in many cases, the population also consists of some people of Chinese Vietnamese origin, many of whom arrived during the second refugee wave in 1980 and own a large share of businesses in Little Saigon today. Despite the title "Little Saigon," there are also many Hispanic and remaining white residents as well as some Cambodian and Laotian immigrants residing in the area. In Orange County, Little Saigon is now a wide, spread-out community dotted with a myriad of suburban-style strip malls containing a mixture of Vietnamese and Chinese Vietnamese businesses. It is located southwest of Disneyland between the California State Highway 22 and Interstate 405. However, the main focus of Little Saigon is the Bolsa Avenue center (where Asian Garden Mall and Little Saigon Plaza are considered the heart), which runs through Westminster and the street has been officially designated Little Saigon by the city council of Westminster in the late 1980s. The borders of Little Saigon can be considered to be Trask and McFadden on the north and south and Euclid and Magnolia on the east and west, respectively. About three-quarters of the population in this area are Vietnamese. It is lined with numerous huge shopping centers and strip malls. As with many other Vietnamese American communities, competing mom-and-pop restaurants that serve Vietnamese cuisine (especially Phở [beef noodles]) are abundant. There are approximately 200 hundred restaurants in the area of Little Saigon and spilling over to Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana and Huntington Beach. In addition, there are quite a number of Vietnamese supermarkets, small Vietnamese delis and bakeries in Little Saigon specializing in French-style coffee and baguette sandwiches - indeed, a legacy of Vietnam's turbulent colonial past. Restaurants serving Chinese cuisine such as Teochew and Cantonese are also available but in smaller numbers. Adding to growth of Vietnamese markets in the area, the rapidly expanding Vietnamese supermarket superstore chain Shun Fat Supermarket (called in Vietnamese, Siêu thị Thuận Phát) opened its doors in Westminster in 2005. Catering to the large Vietnamese population in the area are also professional offices of doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, etc. who speak Vietnamese. Food and authentic Vietnamese cuisine remains the forefront of attractions amongst non-Vietnamese visiting Little Saigon. The community's history of food and cuisine is captured in a recent cookbook by Ann Le,[1] "The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon.
In 1984, the major Chinese American supermarket chain 99 Ranch Market (initially called 99 Price Market) had its first start in Little Saigon of California. However, unable to compete with many of the Vietnamese markets in the area, the flagship store has since closed and been replaced by another supermarket. The two-story enclosed Asian Garden Mall was developed by the well-known and influential Little Saigon founder and developer Frank Jao (an ethnic Chinese born in Haiphong, Vietnam) and bankrolled by Chinese Indonesian and Taiwanese investors. Asian Garden Mall was opened in 1987. Owing to its fame, it tends to have the highest costs of rent in Little Saigon. Jao also developed another heavily-frequented Vietnamese shopping center across the street, and this center once contained a long court of Confucius statues as motifs, but frequently vacant storefronts in the rear of the plaza were cleared to make way for housing developments. Today, a few of the original statues remain. San Gabriel Valley (LA, California) Little SaigonDue to the large influx and presence of relatively poor ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam in the 1980s (which also coincided with the arrival of immigrant elite from Taiwan and Hong Kong), the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles has another important concentration of Vietnamese in Southern California. While not generally referred to as "Little Saigon", the stretch of Garvey Avenue in the working-class barrios of Rosemead, California, South El Monte, California, and El Monte, California have a relatively heavy but scattered collection of businesses owned mainly by majority ethnic Chinese Vietnamese with a growing number of ethnic Vietnamese residents and business owners as well. Many of these businesses are housed in tiny strip malls whereas others occupy freestanding, aging buildings. These Vietnamese businesses are very gradually replacing businesses owned by Hispanics. Rosemead is the Vietnamese center of the San Gabriel Valley. One particular shopping center in Rosemead, called Diamond Square, is anchored by the Taiwanese American chain 99 Ranch Market and contains various Chinese Vietnamese small businesses and a food court catering to local Asians. It remains a major hub for working-class Vietnamese and Mainland Chinese expatriates residing in the area. Many Vietnamese of ethnic Chinese origin also tend to own countless businesses - especially supermarkets, restaurants, beauty parlors, and auto repair shops - in the main general mixed-Chinese commercial thoroughfares of Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park, California and Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, California, San Gabriel, California, and Rosemead. There are already several pho and banh mi eateries represented along Valley Boulevard. The sriracha hot sauce manufacturer Huy Fong Foods( known for its rooster logo and found in countless Vietnamese restaurants) is owned by a Chinese Vietnamese refugee named David Tran and was originally located in Chinatown, Los Angeles but it relocated to its larger facility in Rosemead. San Jose Little SaigonComprising about 9% of the population, San Jose's Vietnamese community is almost comparable to the one in Orange County. San Jose has by far more Vietnamese residents than any other United States city. Vietnamese language radio programs from Orange County are also rebroadcasted in the region. The San Jose Mercury News had a Vietnamese-language edition, along with other Vietnamese-owned publications. Although now it has been discontinued, there are many other Vietnamese publications that provide the ethnic literature enjoyed by the Vietnamese community. Several shopping malls on Tully Road cater to Vietnamese tastes, such as the incredibly popular Grand Century Mall. The popular Lee's Sandwiches (a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich chain eatery) as well as the semi-authentic Vietnamese pho chain Pho Hoa Restaurant had their first locations here. The Vietnamese community in San Jose, however, is more integrated into the local community, and is generally not as high-profile as other places; as a result, there is no officially-designated area named "Little Saigon". Sacramento Little SaigonWith a large and growing Vietnamese American population, Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento has an informal "Little Saigon". Although settlement of Vietnamese refugees began during the 1980s, large numbers of Vietnamese have moved from the San Jose area to the Sacramento area since the late 1990s and 2000s (especially after the dot-com bust in Silicon Valley). The large Asian supermarket Shun Fat Supermarket (a small Southern California-based chain owned by a Chinese Vietnamese American) has opened in 2000 to cater to the local community and anchors Pacific Plaza. One of the First Vietnamese-Chinese owned supermarkets was Vinh Phat Supermarket. There are nearby Vietnamese shopping centers planned for development, including Little Saigon Plaza (to be anchored by a supermarket) that is to be developed by prominent San Jose-based Vietnamese American developers. Other current shopping centers sport names such as Little Vietnam and Pacific Rim Plaza. San Francisco Little SaigonSan Francisco has now officially designated a Little Saigon on Larkin Street in the Tenderloin district. Long being a major Vietnamese community (unlike San Jose with its larger ethnic Vietnamese population, the ethnic Chinese from Vietnam are especially represented in San Francisco as a result of self-imposed segregation from ethnic Vietnamese), and attracting Vietnamese from San Jose, a number of community activists have supported making this Tenderloin neighborhood into a Little Saigon. Soon, there will be an official entrance constructed, much in the same way as the Japantown and Chinatown in San Francisco. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here. Oakland Little SaigonMany of Oakland's Vietnamese businesses are concentrated along International Boulevard and East 12th Street in the San Antonio district. The Oakland suburb of San Pablo has a pan-Asian shopping center called San Pablo Marketplace, developed by Orange County-based developer Frank Jao. San Diego Little SaigonWhen the "first wave" of Vietnamese immigrants started to arrive in the late 1970's/early 1980's, many settled in the communities adjacent to San Diego State University, such as City Heights and Talmadge, better known as East San Diego. As families and individuals became more affluent however, many relocated to other communities in the city: Linda Vista, Clairemont, Serra Mesa, etc. (Central San Diego) and what was then brand-new tract communities such as Mira Mesa, Rancho Penasquitos , Rancho Bernardo, etc.) With a population of about 35,000 people (U.S. Census Bureau), the San Diego metropolitan area ranks as one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States. Because of the Vietnamese population's unique migration patterns in the city, it does not have a huge concentration of Vietnamese businesses in a particular area like other metropolitan areas (e.g., San Jose, Houston, etc.) Still, there are 3 notable Vietnamese business disticts in the San Diego region: Mira Mesa Blvd. (North San Diego), El Cajon Blvd. (East San Diego), and Convoy Street/Linda Vista Road (Central San Diego). Colorado Little SaigonFollowing the development of the Far East Center shopping complex, a growing Vietnamese commercial district is emerging on Federal Boulevard between Evans and Alameda Avenues in Denver, Colorado, with already choices of Vietnamese cuisine eateries and various businesses. This particular area has already been promoted as evidence of the city's cultural diversity. Florida Little SaigonA thriving Vietnamese quarter called "Little Vietnam" exists in the Colonialtown district of Orlando, Florida. The neighborhood has become a landmark in the city of Orlando and consist of a countless, and always growing, number of restaurants, groceries, and Vietnamese professional offices that serve the local Vietnamese community with everything from taxes to medical and dental care. Stores supply Asian pop-culture to the community in the form of karaoke bars, Boba tea shops, Vietnamese video and music shops, and stores featuring candies and collecteables from across Asia. The heart of the district is the intersection of East Colonial Drive/HWY50 and Mills Ave, also known as the "Vi-Mi" district. The Orlando Vietnamese community has its roots in war refugees seeking a new life in America after the fall of Saigon. Notable pro-democracy activists, such as Thuong Nguyen Foshee, who was just recently released from prison in Vietnam, call Orlando their home. The Vietnamese Community in Orlando, along with institutions like Long Van Temple and St. Philip Phan Van Minh Church, and groups such as The Vietnamese Association of Central Florida, strive to maintain their heritage as well as share their culture with the rest of Orlando. Annual events, such as the numerous Tet New Year Celebrations at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and across the city, help spread Vietnamese culture and promote diversity throughout Orlando. Georgia Little SaigonThere are many Vietnamese businesses located in the mixed-Asian – that is, co-existing with ethnic Korean and Chinese businesses – commercial and cultural strip of Buford Highway in Doraville and Chamblee, which are working-class suburbs of Atlanta. Although a fair number of post-war Vietnamese refugees settled in Atlanta earlier, many Vietnamese Americans from California and other parts of the United States have been relocating into the Atlanta area and making a fairly large presence since the 1990s. Many of the "Vietnamese" commercial enterprises along Buford Highway are dominated by ethnic Chinese Vietnamese. Illinois Little SaigonArgyle Street in the city of Chicago contains a Little Saigon district, and it has become the hub of vibrant Vietnamese culture in the city. It is referred to by Chicagoans as the "New Chinatown." Louisiana Little SaigonLouisiana is home to many Vietnamese, many of whom especially engaged in traditional fishing. New Orleans has a small "Little Saigon" in the eastern part of the city. There is a Vietnamese business section in Baton Rouge, located near the 12000 block of Florida Blvd (Hwy 190), which consists of restaurants, grocery stores, and other various businesses. Massachusetts Little SaigonDorchester, Massachusetts, located right outside of Boston, is home to a major Vietnamese business center in the Northeast. It serves some 35,000 Vietnam-born Americans in the Boston-Worcester area as well as those in surroundings states such as Connecticut and Rhode Island. Mississippi Little SaigonA small "Little Saigon" can be found on Oak Street in Biloxi. Missouri Little SaigonKansas City is home to more than 5,000 Vietnamese immigrants. Four small "Little Saigons" contain various businesses, including pho restaurants, nail salons, hair salons, video gift stores, cell phone stores, pool halls and jewelry stores. One of the "Little Saigons" can be found on Campbell St. There is a large supermarket on Cherry St. called "Kim Longs Asian Market & Restaurant" which now has a food court in the front of the store. St. Louis also has a large Vietnamese refugee population. The majority of restaurants and stores are in "South City" on or near Grand Ave. Michigan Little SaigonWhile not titled as a "Little Saigon", the suburban community of Madison Heights in the Detroit area has become a center of Vietnamese commerce. Located on John R Road and on Dequindre Road, several Vietnamese markets, phở noodle soup restaurants, movie/music stores, several nail supply stores, herbal store and beauty salons have cropped up along two streets. Besides Madison Heights, the Grand Rapids/Holland area has a small Vietnamese town. New Mexico Little SaigonA small "Little Saigon" community thrives in Southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico. Located on and around Central Avenue, the community consists of various Vietnamese restaurants and markets. Oklahoma Little SaigonLike Seattle, Oklahoma City has a significant Vietnamese American business district in a gentrified area in the center part of the city. Thousands of Vietnamese refugees were relocated to Oklahoma City during the 1980s and have established businesses in much of the old Uptown NW 23rd and Classen Blvd. business districts. While the area is officially known as the Asian District because of the abundant Asian diversity of the area, much of the "Little Saigon" portion centres on Military Dr. and along NW 23rd St. between Classen Blvd. and N. Shartel Ave. Little Saigon features numerous Pho cafés and Asian supermarkets. There are even a few hopping nightclubs and videobars joining the growing list of Chinese, Thai, Filipino, and Korean establishments that make up the remainder of the Asia District. Oklahoma City's "Little Saigon" district was also featured in National Geographic's March 2003 issue's ZipUSA series titled "73106: Lemongrass on the Prairie" Oregon Little SaigonThere are 10,641 Vietnamese Americans live in the Portland area. Many Vietnamese businesses in Portland can be found on NE Sandy Boulevard, SE Powell Boulevard, and NE 82nd Avenue. But there are some Vietnamese business around the Portland area such as Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha, and Tigard. Pennsylvania Little SaigonSouth Philadelphia near the Italian Market has a large Vietnamese American population. Many Vietnamese businesses tucked in strip malls have emerged on Washington Avenue to service the local immigrant population. The Vietnamese sandwich banh mi is gaining much attention in Philadelphia and is now competing with the Philly Cheesesteak. As of 2005, Vietnamese are projected to become the largest nationality in South Philadelphia. Philadelphia is in the top ten cities with Vietnamese populations and Vietnamese immigration destinations. Philadelphia even has a higher percentage and numerical population of Vietnamese than New York City, one of few Asian backgrounds that shy from New York. Texas Little SaigonA major Little Saigon can also be found in Houston, a strip along Bellaire Boulevard west of the city of Bellaire. The redevelopment of Midtown Houston from run-down to upscale has increased property values and property taxes, thus forcing the Vietnamese Americans out of their current neighborhood into other areas. The boundaries for Little Saigon are defined as:
One of the largest Vietnamese supermarkets in the Bellaire district is called Hong Kong Supermarket, located in Hong Kong City Mall at the crossroads of Bellaire and Boone. Another Vietnamese supermarket was recently opened near Texas Beltway 8 and Beechnut, called Viet Hoa International Foods. These supermarkets, along with various smaller outfits across Houston area, provide great selections of Asian produce and foodstuffs, and prices are very reasonable. In 2004, the area has been officially named "Little Saigon" by the city of Houston. [4] Many of the locals will still call this southwest area of Houston as "Southwest New Chinatown". This title was used to distinguish from the Downtown area's Chinatown that went in disarray after the construction of the George R. Brown Convention was built. Even though the area is primarily Vietnamese and Chinese, there is also a large amount of Filipino Americans, Arab Muslims, Indonesian Americans, and Pakistani Americans in the area, as well as a sizable amount of African Americans, whom were once the majority in the Little Saigon area prior to the Vietnam War. Many of the business owners in the area are Chinese and not Vietnamese, such as the owner of "Hong Kong Super Markets" and latter "City Mall Center"[citation needed]. The area along Bellaire Blvd, starting from Fondren to Cook Rd. which mainly falls right into the Sharpstown area, which overlap outer Houston city area into Alief urban area, which spread along the Beltway 8 from Bellaire parallel to Beechnut. This can be seen as the street name sign are post in the default English and following a second set of sign in Chinese-translated equivalents. These street name signs where paid for by the local Chinese community associations of the area, which met with problem of non-Chinese groups of arguing of unfair treatment by the city, the problem was quenched by claim that it was made by private fund and not by the city[citation needed]. There are a number of unofficial Little Saigons around the Dallas area. 1) First one is located in the city of Garland along Walnut Street between Audelia Road and Jupiter Road. This is the largest one around. There are four large supermarkets (Hiep Thai, New Truong Nguyen, Hong Kong and Saigon Taipei) each is located on a different shopping complex and a number of restaurants. Saigon Taipei is located on the southeast corner of Buckingham Road and Shiloh Road. 2) Second one is in Arlington on Pioneer Parkway with a few supermarkets (Saigon-Taipei, Hong Kong) and restaurants. 3) The third one is in Irving on Beltline Road with "Little Saigon Mall". 4) Vietnamese businesses can also be found in other nearby cities of Richardson, Carrollton and Haltom City. Vietnamese Yellow Page in DFW Virginia Little SaigonThe Washington, D.C. suburb of Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia is home to the largest Vietnamese American population and cultural center on the eastern seaboard. While there is no full-fledged "Little Saigon" to speak of, the most prominent hub for local-area Vietnamese is the massive and highly-elaborate shopping mall called the Eden Center, complete with a garden and an arch to signifying its entrance. Washington Little SaigonSeattle, Washington has a significant, prosperous Vietnamese American business district centered at 12th Avenue and Jackson Street, immediately east of the city's considerably older Chinatown. This area has not been officially designated a "Little Saigon", although a few street signs with this name have been erected. Rather, the area – along with the Chinatown – has retained the longstanding name International District (now officially Chinatown/International District, but often just "The I.D."), dating back about a century. The predominantly Chinese and predominantly Vietnamese areas are separated from one another by Interstate 5, but there is easy pedestrian and car access between the two.
LARGEST
VIETNAMESE POPULATION IN U.S. METROPOLITAN AREAS
U.S. CENSUS 2000 (1990 Figures in Parentheses) Little Saigon -Viet Nam Towns in Canada
Vietnamese began arriving in Canada in the mid 1970s and early 1980s as refugees or boat people following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, though a couple thousands were already living in Quebec before then. Most new arrivees were sponsored by groups of individuals and churches and settled in areas around Southern Ontario, Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Between 1975 to 1985, 110,000 settled in Canada (23,000 in Ontario; 13,000 in Quebec; 8,000 in Alberta; 7,000 British Columbia; 5,000 in Manitoba; 3,000 in Saskatchewan; and 2,000 in the Maritime provinces). As time progressed, most eventually settled in urban centres like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Hamilton and Calgary. The next wave of Vietnamese migration came in the late 1980s and 1990s as both refugees and immigrant classes of post-war Vietnam entered Canada. Some of these immigrants are ethnic Chinese from Saigon in southern Vietnam. These groups settled in urban areas, in particular Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Vietnamese immigrants settled mainly in the eastern sections of Vancouver and in Montreal's downtown and south shore. In Toronto they have settled in the city's Chinatown area near Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West or to the west in Mississauga. Vietnamese Canadians also brought their cuisine and pho has become a popular food everywhere in Canada. In Canada, local Vietnamese media is dominated by:
In Vancouver, hardworking Vietnamese Canadians managed to open a variety of stores and restaurants throughout Vancouver, especially on the east side of the city around Kingsway and Fraser. The area is home to several Vietnamese clothing, food stores, and shops. In the Toronto area, there are 19 Vietnamese owned supermarkets, some serving ethnic Vietnamese-French. In Montreal there are about 40,000 Vietnamese Canadian population among highest median income and education of Vietnamese Canadians in major cities. There are more than 100 Vietnamese restaurants, hundreds of small size manufacturers of different products from clothing to technology, about 80 pharmacies and hundreds of doctors, dentists, over a thousand scientists, engineers and technicians, about sixty convenient stores and groceries. Since Nov 2006, Mr. Ngo Van Tan has started a daring project to promote and build the first Vietnam Town in Canada called Vietnamville near metro Jean Talon including St-Denis, Jean Talon, St-Hubert and Belanger streets with over 130 businesses already opened in the area. Investment opportunities in Vietnam Town are open to Vietnamese worldwide.
Vietnam Town in Toronto, ON Little Saigon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatowns_in_North_America In Toronto, the Vietnamese immigrants have settled in the city's Chinatown area near Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West or to the west in Mississauga. The area bounded by Spadina Ave. (West), Beverly Street (east), College Street (North), and Queen Street (South) is considered as Viet Nam Town since it comprises about more than 136 Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese businesses. Toronto's largest Chinatown is centered on Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street. To the east of the Don River is Toronto Chinatown East, at the corner of Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street. With a population of over 400,000 Chinese, Toronto has the largest concentration of "chinatowns" in North America when considering all five major chinatowns in the metropolitan region. Toronto's Chinatown and Chinese communities are highly represented by Hong Kong immigrants and families. In the last decade, mostly after the 1997 Hong Kong handover, the influx of immigrants from mainland China has surpassed the flow of immigration from Hong Kong. However, most Chinese businesses and restaurants are still conducted in Cantonese. The pan-Chinese diasporas are generally segregated, with the Vietnamese Chinese, who generally arrived as impoverished refugees, residing in old Chinatown and suburban Mississauga in western Toronto. The wealthy Hong Kong Chinese tend to be concentrated in upscale Markham and Richmond Hill in the northern part of Greater Toronto. The Mainland Chinese have concentrated in the historic Chinatown in Toronto. In addition to the Chinatown around Dundas and Spadina and the East Chinatown on Gerrard, there are multiple other Chinatowns throughout Toronto's suburbs, especially those in Agincourt and Milliken: Stretching west from Brimley along Sheppard Avenue to blocks west of Kennedy and north from Sheppard to Steeles. Mississauga, Richmond Hill along Bayview/Hwy 7 to Leslie/Hwy 7 and north from Hwy 7 to roughly 16th avenue. To the north of the city of Toronto, Markham and Richmond Hill, Ontario are noted for their large concentration of Chinese strip malls; in 2001, 30 percent of Markham's population, or 62,355 people, was of Chinese descent. Mentionable Chinese malls in Markham and Richmond Hill include Pacific Mall (largest Chinese mall in North America with over 300 stores), Market Village, Metro Square, and First Markham Place, Times Square, Commerce Gate, Chalmers Gate and Golden Gate Plaza. On February 14, 2007, Splendid China Tower Mall had opened. It's at the corner of Kennedy Rd and Steel Ave, which it's the border of Scarborough and Markham and it marks the entrance of another expansion of the Chinese cultural-commercial presence in North America. There have been a number of businesses, namely restaurants that have flourished in the large Chinese communities. Toronto's new Chinese suburbs include businesses from several regions of China, but they also are dominated by businesses set up by Hong Kong companies as well as immigrants from Hong Kong and their families. Also, the old Chinatown of Toronto on Spadina Avenue has become noticeably Vietnamese in character. Vietnamese have also become part of the new Asian areas on the Jane and Finch corridor and in Missisauga. Old Chinatown Little Saigon
Toronto has the one of the largest Chinatowns in North America. It is centred around the intersection of Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue, and extends outward from this point along both streets. It has grown significantly over the years and has come to reflect a diverse set of Asian cultures through its shops and restaurants, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai. Toronto's original Chinatown was located on Dundas Street West and Bay Street. When the City began construction on the current City Hall in the 1960s, Chinese-oriented stores and homes formerly in the old district were required to close down and move shop, so that the area could be cleared for the new building. Consequently, the Chinese community migrated westward to Chinatown's current location. Toronto's oldest (surviving) Chinatown is struggling to redefine itself in the face of an aging Chinese population, recent declines in tourism, and the lure of the suburban Chinatowns that continue to draw money and professional immigrants away from downtown. Unlike the newer Chinatowns in the suburbs, Dundas and Spadina relies heavily on tourism and Chinese seniors. Younger, higher-income immigrants from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have moved out, so 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 old Chinatown Toronto and turning some parts into Little Saigon. While the aging population shrinks however, so too do the revenues of businesses in the district. Also the area is also seeing a surge in Latin American immigrants, they too are changing the face of the old Chinatown.
The Chinese Vietnamese in Toronto's Chinatown (PDF file) Ottawa's "Chinatown" is actually named the Asian Village and it is located in the Centretown area, on Somerset Street West near Bronson Avenue. It is a community mixes with ethnic markets, shops, services and especially an assortment of ethnic Chinese and ethnic Vietnamese eateries. An informal but sizable Chinatown is found in Windsor, Ontario, in close proximity to the Ambassador Bridge on Wyandotte Street West, between Ranking Avenue and Partingten Avenue, within walking distance from the University of Windsor. This street has several businesses, ranging from Chinese groceries, restaurants, bakeries, among others - mostly established by the Vietnamese Chinese migrants. This Chinatown is also frequented by people from Michigan and Ohio since Metro Detroit lacks a formal "Chinatown", although there is a growing Chinese retail strip in the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights, Michigan, also filled with various businesses owned by Vietnamese Chinese. Montreal's small, but well-frequented Chinatown is on rue De La Gauchetière and around rue Saint-Urbain and boulevard Saint-Laurent, between boulevard René-Lévesque and rue Viger (Place-d'Armes metro station), just a stone's throw away from the touristy Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal). It was originally formed in the 1890s and has been the centrepiece for Chinese residing in the Montreal area. The Chinatown is known as Quartier chinois in French. Hong Kong Chinese especially have settled in the area. Over the years, Vietnamese Chinese have set up shops and restaurants in the area as well. As with other Chinatowns the world over, the majority of the trade in the district are specialized in Chinese gastronomy, but there are also other diners specializing in Vietnamese cuisine. There are also Chinese bakeries offering Chinese pastries. A newer Chinese commercial centre of suburban Montreal is on Boulevard Taschereau in Brossard, where Chinese Canadian make up a fairly sizable portion of the population. Began in the late 1980s, Hong Kong Chinese immigrant arrived prior to the 1997 Communist Chinese takeover of British Hong Kong. Sadly, Brossard experienced a drop in its population of Chinese origin and many strip mall businesses have been abandoned as some Hong Kongers returned to meet their uncertain fate in the Communist-rule era of Hong Kong. Chinese businesses in Quebec enjoy one of the only exceptions to that province's notorious language laws. When l'office de la langue francaise ordered restaurants and other businesses to replace their Chinese signs with signs where the French text is at least twice as large as Chinese, and without any English, Chinese businessmen protested that this was unlucky and bad for business. They were granted exemptions from the province's strict sign laws on cultural grounds. In Montreal (mainly in downtown and south shore) there are about 40,000 Vietnamese Canadian population among highest median income and education of Vietnamese Canadians in major cities. There are more than 100 Vietnamese restaurants, hundreds of small size manufacturers of different products from clothing to technology, about 80 pharmacies and hundreds of doctors, dentists, over a thousand scientists, engineers and technicians, about sixty convenient stores and groceries. Vietnamese immigrants settled mainly in the eastern sections of Vancouver. In Vancouver, hardworking Vietnamese Canadians managed to open a variety of stores and restaurants throughout Vancouver, especially on the east side of the city around Kingsway and Fraser. The area is home to several Vietnamese clothing, food stores, and shops.
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