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The arrival of Chinese in Mexico

Diana Villavicencio| El Universal
13:00Tuesday 22 July 2014

On February 16, 2008, Marcelo Ebrard, then Mexico City mayor, inaugurated the "Chinese Arc" on Independencia Street at Mexico City downtown. (Photo: JUAN BOITES / EL UNIVERSAL )

Even though there is written testimony that the first contact of Mexico with Chinese people dates back to the sixteenth century, when the Manila galleons sailed the Pacific Ocean, it was until the late nineteenth century when Chinese were brought to Mexico as workers.

The presence of Chinese migrants in Mexico dates back to 1565, when the first ship known as "Nao de China" (Manila galleon) docked in Acapulco, laden with silk, porcelain and spices, among other goods. 

The vast majority of those who arrived in the country never returned to their homeland, because the Spanish Crown allowed them to settle in Mexico. 

Even though there is written testimony that the first contact of Mexico with Chinese people dates back to the sixteenth century, when the Manila galleons sailed the Pacific Ocean, it was until the late nineteenth century when Chinese were brought to Mexico as workers. At the time, they were called "working machines". 

Historians say that in 1890, 500 Chinese came to Mexico to build the railway of Tehuantepec and after four years, a Chinese nationalized Mexican living in Mérida planned to bring 200,000 of his fellow countrymen. 

By 1895 there were 897 Chinese in Mexico and by 1910, the number increased to 30,000. However, 30 years later it dropped to under 5,000. 

During the Mexican Revolution, the Chinese community was victim of harassment, including a massacre in Torreón where hundreds of them were killed. 

The community also faced evictions, despoilments and confinements. They were shot in Monterrey and in Sonora, they were confined to oriental neighborhoods, marginalizing them as it happened with Jews in Europe. 

Also, the Chinese people who tried unsuccessfully to cross to the United States through Baja California started to settle in different states of Mexico. 

Historian Francisco Ibarlucea says that in 1925, Chinese people living in Mexicali and Tijuana moved to Mexico City after the Mexican Revolution, where they opened laundry shops and cafes. 

In the 1940's the first restaurant called "Shan Ghai" opened on the alley of Las Damas (now Dolores Street) and became the foundation of Mexico City's Chinatown, where the start of the Chinese Year continues to be celebrated with parades.

 



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