Chinatown

Chinatown
Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world, in Manila
Chinese	唐人街
Literal meaning	"Chinese Street"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tángrénjiē Wu Romanization Daon平 nin平 ka平 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tòhngyàhngāai Jyutping Tong4 yan4 gaai1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tông-jîn-ke Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Tòng-ìng-kĕ
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	中國城
Simplified Chinese	中国城
Literal meaning	"Chinatown"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguóchéng Wu Romanization Tson平 koh入 zen平 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūnggwoksìhng Jyutping Jung1 gwok3 sing4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-kok-siânn Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dŭng-guók-siàng
Second alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	華埠
Simplified Chinese	华埠
Literal meaning	"Chinese District"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Huábù Wu Romanization Gho平 bu去 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wàfōw Jyutping Wa4 fau6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hôa-bú Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Huà-pú

A Chinatown (Chinese: 唐人街; pinyin: Tángrénjiē; Jyutping: tong⁴ yan⁴ gaai¹) is historically any ethnic enclave, of Chinese or Han people outside of Mainland China or Taiwan, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australasia, and Asia.

A Chinatown, as a "Chinese enclave", is defined as "... any small, distinct area or [Chinese] group enclosed or isolated within a larger [Non-Chinese] group." The development of most Chinatowns typically start with mass migration to an area having zero or very few Chinese. The most notable example is San Francisco's Chinatown caused by the California Gold Rush of the mid 1800s and a more modern example occurring in Montville, Connecticut caused by the displacement of Chinese workers in New York's Chinatown in Manhattan following the September 11th attacks in 2001.

The Oxford Dictionary defines "Chinatown" as "... a district of any non-Chinese town, especially a city or seaport, in which the population is predominantly of Chinese origin". However, some Chinatowns may have little to do with China. Some "Vietnamese" enclaves are in fact a city's "second Chinatown", and some Chinatowns are in fact pan-Asian, meaning they could also be counted as a Koreatown or Little India. One example includes Asiatown in Cleveland, Ohio. It was initially referred to as a Chinatown but was subsequently renamed due to the influx of non-Chinese Asian Americans who opened businesses there. Today the district acts as a unifying factor for the Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Nepalese and Thai communities of Cleveland.