Qualla: Chinatown, London https://qualla.com/chinatown-london en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:14 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Chinatown, London https://qualla.com/chinatown-london Chinatown, London: Introduction https://qualla.com/chinatown-london/ Photo credit Prioryman, CC BY-SA 4.0. Warren Zevon's 1978 hit song 'Werewolves of London' sends its protagonist to Lee Ho Fook's restaurant on Gerrard Street to get a big dish of beef chow mein. It's a comic line, but it marks a moment: by 1978, Gerrard Street was already recognizable enough to name-drop in a rock song, already established enough to work as shorthand for London's Chinese community. That transformation had happened in less than a decade. Before the mid-1970s, Gerrard Street was simply a run-down Soho thoroughfare, home to a post office, a tailor's shop, a few brothels, and no particular identity at all.

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Image: Prioryman | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/gcpv-chinatown-london-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Chinatown, London: The First Chinatown https://qualla.com/chinatown-london/ Photo credit Tatata, CC BY-SA 2.0. London's original Chinese community settled in Limehouse, in the East End, at the start of the 20th century. Chinese sailors who worked the Docklands trade routes established shops and businesses there, and the area developed into a recognizable enclave. It became notorious in wa...

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Image: Tatata | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/gcpv-chinatown-london-the-first-chinatown.mp3 0:06 2 full Chinatown, London: Gerrard Street Transformed https://qualla.com/chinatown-london/ Photo credit Senn4 Pr0st, CC BY-SA 4.0. The present Chinatown did not begin taking shape until the early 1970s. Gerrard Street was its anchor — a short, shabby block off Shaftesbury Avenue that the Chinese community gradually claimed, restaurant by restaurant, starting with the first openings on parallel Lisle Street. ...

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Image: Senn4 Pr0st | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/gcpv-chinatown-london-gerrard-street-transformed.mp3 0:06 3 full Chinatown, London: A Meeting Place More Than a Home https://qualla.com/chinatown-london/ Photo credit Joe McGowan from Austin, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0. The streets here carry 17th-century history embedded in their names: Gerrard Street was named for Charles Gerard, the 1st Earl of Macclesfield, who owned the land in the 1680s. Rupert Court and Rupert Street bear the name of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, First Lord of the Admiralty...

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Image: Joe McGowan from Austin, TX, USA | CC BY 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/gcpv-chinatown-london-a-meeting-place-more-than-a-home.mp3 0:06 4 full Chinatown, London: Resistance and Resilience https://qualla.com/chinatown-london/ Photo credit Eluveitie, CC BY-SA 3.0. Chinatown has not been without conflict. In 2005, a property developer proposed redeveloping the eastern portion of the area, and businesses pushed back hard, arguing that the changes would displace traditional Chinese retail and change the neighbourhood's character fundamentally...

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Image: Eluveitie | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/chinatown-london-wp/gcpv-chinatown-london-resistance-and-resilience.mp3 0:06 5 full