Port Louis’ Chinatown in Mauritius, Then and Now

The historic Chinatown in Mauritius was saved by the new generation

Chinatown near Port Louis’ central market is carved out of four city blocks in the center of Mauritius. It is a popular destination with colorfully painted wooden shop fronts and filled with restaurants serving Asian cuisine, ground spices and aromatic vegetables.

But with a centuries old history the island of Mauritius is growing old. It was first discovered by Arabs, and then subsequently by the Portuguese around 1507. Then the Dutch gave its name after their prince, Maurits Van Nassau, in 1598. This district is one of the oldest Chinatowns in Africa having been built by the first big wave of Chinese immigrants that arrived as far back as the 1780s.

Nowadays, younger generations of Chinese Mauritians have been looking for a way out, they are moving out of the area to work or study abroad and they often don’t come back, leaving the historic structures to fade into ruin and neglect. “Chinatown used to be a very vibrant place.” “But slowly because it’s a place mostly for trade and less for a living area… Gradually Chinese moved out of Chinatown, says Christian Foo, president of Hua Lien, the largest Chinese social club on the island founded in 1974.

But the area still has a magnetic charm for tourists, and as Chinatown’s population changes there are some of the new generation of young people still willing to preserve and revive the old town while leaning toward the future. They are doing this through the New Chinatown Foundation that gathers members in organized street cleaning groups that repaint neglected buildings, as well as flash mobs dances in the middle of Chinatown to bring forth new energy.

 

Source: cnn.com