Chinatown, Toronto
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The Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, has at least six Chinatowns — three are located within the city's boundaries, while the other three are located in adjacent suburbs.
Old Chinatown
-->Toronto has the second largest Chinatown in North America and the largest when all six Chinatowns are grouped as one. 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. With the aging population shrinks however, so too do the revenues of businesses in the district.
An influx of University of Toronto and Ryerson University students seeking affordable housing, coupled with the location of the Ontario College of Art and Design adjacent to Chinatown, has accelerated gentrification of the district, bringing in young professionals to the area. The changing landscape of the district's population would bring a more multicultural flavour to the district, but could potentially eliminate its identity as a "Chinatown."
East Chinatown
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. Vietnamese-Chinese and mainland Chinese immigrants dominate this district.Agincourt
Agincourt, a Scarborough neighbourhood, saw an influx of Hong Kong Chinese and Taiwanese during the 1980s. Since the development of Agincourt's Dragon Centre Mall in the 1980s, it has become a booming "Chinatown" and was the vanguard for the proliferation of "Chinese malls," large malls with restaurants and stores catering specifically to the Chinese community, across the GTA. Since 2000, Agincourt Chinese population is spread thinly and many are leaving for communities north of Toronto. Pockets of Chinese areas are likely to remain, but they will be less vibrant when compared to the late 1980s and early 1990s.Chinatown - Mississauga
Mississauga's growing Chinese population is spread out across the vast suburb, but the commercial community has been traditionally centered around the Chinese Centre, located at 888 Dundas Street East, just east of Cawthra Road. This large complex, built during 1978, was constructed to reflect China's cultural heritage; an elaborate gate greets visitors on Dundas Street, while red towers with pagoda-styled roofs abound. Growth of this Chinatown is limited, but Mississauga's Chinatown remains an active community. The second newer stretch includes markets and restaurants in strip mall plazas close to the intersection of Burnhamthorpe Rd. West at Central Parkway (near the Erindale GO station) which remains in the growth phase catering mostly to the needs of the growing Chinese population in the city who live nearby.Richmond Hill
During the 1990s, wealthy Chinese immigrants, primarily from Hong Kong, moved directly to suburban Richmond Hill, where they set up businesses and shops catering to that community.
Many shops and restaurants were established in suburban-style shopping malls and plazas (such as Times Square, Commerce Gate, and First Markham Place), especially along Highway 7 between Bayview Avenue and Warden Avenue.
Markham
Markham's experience as a suburban Chinatown is similar to that of neighbouring Richmond Hill and emerged in the 1990s. The most well-known Chinese mall in Markham is the Pacific Mall, at Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East, which, combined with neighbouring Market Village, forms the largest Chinese shopping mall in North America, with over 400 stores between the two complexes.
Notes
The 1999 Chow Yun-Fat film The Corruptor was filmed in one of the Toronto Chinatowns.
See also
- List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
- Canadian Chinese cuisine
- List of Canadian Chinatowns
External link
- [Chinatown Sextet - Chinatowns in the Greater Toronto Area] - Comprehensive site on the history and development of Toronto's Chinatowns.
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