Chinatown, Montreal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Montreal's small but busy Chinatown is on La Gauchetière Street and around Saint Urbain Street and Saint Lawrence Boulevard (boul. Saint-Laurent), between René Lévesque Boulevard and Viger Street (Place-d'Armes metro station).
Originally, many Hong Kong Chinese settled in the area because they worked for the railways and it was convenient for these occupations. Over the years, ethnic Vietnamese Chinese refugees - many of whom spoke French before arriving in Montreal due to French colonization of Vietnam - also set up shops and restaurants in the area. Chinatown is known as le Quartier chinois in French.
Cantonese seafood and dim sum restaurants and Vietnamese pho eateries are featured in Chinatown. Many Asians frequent the area since the shops offer products directly imported from Mainland China or Vietnam that are difficult to find elsewhere in town.
During lobster season, restaurants there are so crowded that it ican be difficult to get a seat without a reservation.
Compared to the Chinatowns of Toronto and Vancouver, where many businesses tend to close at dusk and the streets are empty at night, Montreal's Chinatown remains a vibrant nightspot for locals and tourists.
The part of La Gauchetière that crosses through Chinatown is a pedestrian walkway, making it more inviting for a stroll. On several weekends during the summer, the street becomes a lively outdoor fair.
A new "Chinatown" has arisen on boulevard Taschereau in the suburb of Brossard, where 20% of the population is of Chinese origin. The provincial government of Québec actually enticed Hong Kong Chinese millionaires to settle and invest in the province, particularly in Brossard. The shopping centres were largely funded by Hong Kong Chinese immigrant investors, many of whom have since returned to Hong Kong or have relocated to larger Chinese immigrant centres such as Toronto and Vancouver. Many of the residents of Brossard are especially ethnic Chinese from Vietnam.
