Chinatown (Amsterdam)

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Geldersekade (Chinatown, Amsterdam)

Chinatown Amsterdam is a district in the inner city of Amsterdam and is located between the Nieuwmarkt and the red light district De Wallen . In 2010 the district celebrated its 100th anniversary.

history

Chinatown in Amsterdam is the oldest Chinese neighborhood on mainland Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first Chinese seafarers , hired by British and Dutch shipping companies , came to the Netherlands , among others . Due to war and famine in parts of China , many people fled and worked on merchant ships. In the years of the Great Depression , many seafarers were laid off from the shipping companies and stayed near ports in the hope of more favorable economic times. Chinese traders followed and so the Chinese quarter in Amsterdam emerged in the Binnen Bantammerstraat , Geldersekade and around the Nieuwmarkt . In 1928 the first Chinese restaurant was opened in the Binnen Bantammerstraat.

In 1975, Chinatown had a population of 5,000.

Unlike some Chinatowns in other cities, the district in Amsterdam has no entrance gates or entrance gates ( Paifang ) , but is immediately recognizable by the bilingual street signs. These are not literal translations , rather the Chinese street names, according to the Chinese residents, indicate the “character of the street in question”. So the Nieuwmarkt (actually: "New Market"), San Kwong Cheong, Nieuw Plein ("New Square") means. Zeedijk Street is known to many Chinese as the “spiritual heart of Chinatown” because of the Buddhist temple there. "Sin Tak Kai" for Zeedijk means charity or charity as well as the positive qualities of people. "Kiu Tak Si Kai" for Geldersekade describes a place where the Chinese residents, together with others, "strive for goodwill".

Zeedijk with a view of the He-Hua temple

The most famous streets are Zeedijk, Stormsteeg, Geldersekade, Binnen Bantammerstraat and the Nieuwmarkt. The largest Buddhist temple in Europe, built in traditional Chinese temple style, is on Zeedijk Street. The temple Fo Guang Shan He Hua , called “He Hua” for short (for lotus flower), a design by the Dutch architect Dick Greven based on drawings of traditional Chinese temples, opened on September 15, 2000 after a two-year construction period. Specialists from Taiwan were called in to apply the special decoration .

The Fa Yin Association has existed since 1976 to promote Chinese languages and culture as well as friendly relations between Dutch and Chinese citizens. In a Chinese school, lessons are given in the languages, as well as in Kung Fu , Tai Chi and courses in Chinese calligraphy and yoga .

According to the Old Town Association, Chinatown in Amsterdam is unique in that there is no other Chinese quarter in the world where, apart from the Chinese population, several other nationalities live and work. There are Japanese, Thai and Korean restaurants, as well as supermarkets, boutiques and massage parlors. However, according to the sociologist Min Zhou, this has been a general phenomenon in Chinatowns worldwide since the 1980s and is therefore not limited to Amsterdam alone.

further reading

Books:

  • Eveline Brilleman: Chinese karakters, 100 jaar Chinatown Amsterdam. KIT Publishers. ISBN 9789460221804

Magazines:

  • Nico Polak: De Binnen Bantammerstraat en de boze geest in de Hollandse gaper , Het Vrije Volk , Vrijuit weekend supplement , 22 January 1966
  • Nico Polak, Ab Koers: De Chinezen van Amsterdam , Avenue , February 1973, pages 42-53
  • Elma Verhey: De Binnen Bantammerstraat , Vrij Nederland , supplement of September 14, 1985

Web links

Commons : Chinatown, Amsterdam  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Author: Karina Meeuwse. 100 jaar Chinatown . In “Ons Amsterdam” of April 4, 2011. Dutch, accessed August 28, 2012
  2. ↑ 1928 the first Chinese restaurant in Chinatown . Dutch, accessed March 11, 2011
  3. ↑ Chinezen van Amsterdam . In 1975 the number of inhabitants was estimated at 5000. Information about Chinatown from IISG (Amsterdam) . Dutch, accessed March 7, 2011
  4. ↑ De poëtische straatnamen in Chinatown ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Dutch, accessed February 2, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.amsterdamoudestad.nl
  5. ↑ Chinese straatnaambordjes. Interview with John Lie door Sjaak van der Leden (Dutch; archive version)
  6. ↑ Boeddhistische tempel op de Zeedijk ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Fo Guang Shan He Hua temple. Dutch, accessed August 28, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.amsterdamoudestad.nl
  7. ^ Fa Yin Association ( Memento from October 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Dutch)
  8. ↑ History: 100 jaar Chinatown . In “Ons Amsterdam”, No. 4, April 2011. Dutch, accessed August 28, 2012
  9. ↑ Chinatown: The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave Conflicts, in Urban & Regional, Author Min Zhou, Temple University Press, 1995 ISBN 1-566-39337-X

Coordinates: 52 ° 22 '  N , 4 ° 54'  E