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Chinatown Review

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Chinatown

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Category: Neighborhoods/Streets
Location: Darling Harbour

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 3.2/5

Fodor's Review:

Bounded by the Entertainment Centre, George Street, Goulburn Street, and Paddy's Market, this neighborhood takes your senses on a galloping tour of the Orient. Within this compact grid are aromatic restaurants, traditional apothecaries, Chinese grocers, clothing boutiques, and shops selling Asian-made electronics. The best way to get a sense of the area is to take a stroll along Dixon Street, now a pedestrian mall with a Chinese Lion Gate at either end.

Sydney's Chinese community was first established here in the 1800s, in the aftermath of the gold rush that originally drew many Chinese immigrants to Australia. By the 1920s the area around Dixon Street was a thriving Chinese enclave, although the fear and hostility that many white Australians felt toward the "Yellow Peril" gave it the status of a ghetto. Chinatown was redeveloped in the 1970s, by which time Australians had overcome much of their racial paranoia and embraced the area's liveliness, multiculturalism, and food. These days, most of Sydney comes here regularly to dine, especially on weekends for dim sum lunches (called yum cha).

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by drkenrich from Los Angeles, CA on 4/6/07
The area covers several blocks but most of it is not what you might consider touristy. The "China Town" area is really about 2 blocks long, almost totally restaurants and has a simple gate arch at one end.
If you're walking and can walk through this area or want a Chinese meal, go for it. But if you want a "China" experience go to the Chinese Friendship Garden.
Dr. Ken Rich