London Sights Day 1: China Town

Chinatown is a Chinese neighbourhood, bordering Soho. In Chinatown there is an endless number of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets, souvenir shops, bakeries and other Chinese-run businesses. When you are in Chinatown, you really get the feeling you are in China. This is caused by many traditional Chinese things, like the dragons and decorations.

In London there are living 80,000 Chinese people.

Chinatown was the first Chinese area in London located in the Limehouse area of the East End of London. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Chinese population was located in Chinatown, those people were setting up businesses.

 












After World War II, however, the growing popularity of Chinese cuisine and an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong led to an increasing number of Chinese restaurants being opened elsewhere.

Chinatown is compact and there are only a couple of small streets.

Some restaurants in Chinatown are very cheap. Mr Wu is known for cheap food. There are a number of Mr. Wu’s f.e. on Shaftesbury Avenue, Queensway, Wardour Street and Lisle Street.

Around night, it can be busy on the streets in Chinatown. The streets are filled with people and there is a good vibe.

London Sights Day 1: Trafalgar Square

In 1812, the architect John Nash wanted a new street from Charing Cross to Portland Place, and he wanted it to be a cultural space open to the public. In 1830 the site was officially named Trafalgar Square. In 1838, Sir Charles Barry presented a plan to develop Trafalgar Square. This included the Nelson memorial statue and two fountains. The statue is in honour of Admiral Nelson, after his victory in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. There are four bronze panels at the base of the column, which depict some of Nelson's battles. The lions are said to protect Nelson's column. 
The square is linked to the National Gallery. The square is a central of national democracy and protest. Demonstrations and rallies are frequently held at weekends on different issues, f.e.political, religious or general. The Mayor supports this democratic tradition and gives access to the square. Two Greenpeace activists once climbed Nelson's column to fit a gas mask to the statue as part of a protest over air pollution.