London, England

In the heart of London, bordering Soho and the Westend theatres, Chinatown is a colorful experience with red flags, lanterns, and dragons everywhere. At night, the many restaurants, bubble tea cafes, speakeasies, and karaoke bars attract Londoners and visitors alike. But aside from its happening nightlife, there is also plenty of art to discover in London's Chinatown neighborhood. Chinese immigrants, mainly Cantonese from Hong Kong, started to settle in the area during the 1950s. Street names are subtitled in Chinese, and the tops of telephone boxes resemble mini pagodas. This deserves to be one of the best Chinatowns in the world, and visitors will discover over 80 restaurants, a number of Chinese bakeries, supermarkets carrying imported goods, and a slew of souvenir shops.

Gerrard Street, which lies between Leicester Square and Old Compton Street, is the main thoroughfare of London's Chinatown. Eating out is the main attraction here, but there are also herbal and medicine shops to explore. On Sundays, a family outing day for the city's Chinese, there is a Chinese food market. Chinese New Year is celebrated in style, with massive papier-mache lions dancing through the streets. Although the original Chinatown was discredited amongst the general public through embellishments, which exaggerated the district's copious opium dens and slums, as the population became increasingly assimilated into British culture and moved into Soho, London's Chinatown became immensely popular with residents from all backgrounds, particularly following the Second World War when Chinese food became popular.