Chinatown (Montreal) 5.07

Chinatown in Montreal is located in the area of De la Gauchetière Street in Montreal. The neighbourhood contains many Asian restaurants, food markets, and convenience stores as well being home to many of Montreal's East Asian community centres, such as the Montreal Chinese Hospital and the Montreal Chinese Community and Cultural Center.HistoryThe area was once home to Montreal's Jewish community, with thousands of Yiddish speaking immigrants settling in the area from 1890 to 1920, as part of a Jewish quarter centred on Saint Laurent Boulevard.The first Chinese that created Montreal's Chinatown belonged to the Chan, Hom (Tam), Lee, and Wong clan groups. Many Taishan Chinese settled (all following the Leung Family) in the area because they worked for the railways and it was convenient for these occupations. Over the years, Hong Kong Chinese and ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam also set up shops and restaurants in the area.From the 1970s onwards Montreal's Chinatown was subject to many of the cities' redevelopment plans, reducing the size of Chinatown and its expansion. This saw to the expropriation and demolition of over 6 acres of private properties in the construction of the Complexe Guy-Favreau and a city block of Chinatown for the construction of Palais des congrès de Montréal, even as community consultation and negotiations were still on-going. Rezoning of areas to the East of Saint Laurent from Chinatown in the 1984's has further prevented the growth expansion of Chinatown businesses.