Lima, Peru

Lima’s Barrio Chino, or China neighborhood, is home to the largest Chinese population in Latin America, and also one of the best Chinatowns in the world. In the heart of the old town, the quarter has had its share of bad luck with near-destruction in the mid-1800s during the War of the Pacific and destruction and looting during the Labor Riots in 1918. Numbers declined, but new life was breathed into the old neighborhood in the late 1990s, in time for its 150th anniversary. The lifting of the ban on Chinese immigration has restored Lima’s Barrio Chino to its bustling self.

Lima’s Barrio Chino is a pedestrian-only stretch of road that hosts various Chinese festivals, souvenir shops, and restaurants. Over 6,000 Chinese restaurants have opened their doors in Lima, most of which can be found in El Barrio Chino. Also, other places of interest include temples, oracles, and various Chinese associations. Lima’s Barrio Chino continues to be a thriving community. Several restaurants, temples, and establishments are scattered across the area while the first-ever Chinese-language newspaper in the Americas ‘Man Chin Po’ originated in Lima. Lima’s Chinatown or Barrio Chino is an interesting mix of influences and cultures. Lima’s Chinatown is a source of Chinese handicrafts, herbs, vegetables, products in general, and Asian cuisine ingredients. Nowadays, the influence of the Chinese in Peru is ethnic and gastronomic.