Chinatown, Anywhere
Chinese immigrants helped give reggae its start in Kingston, Jamaica. They brought chowmein to Calcutta, India, “became black” in South Africa, and are remaking fast fashion in Prato, Italy.
Today 40 million people of Chinese descent live outside China. Collectively, they represent the largest diaspora in the world.
Stories by Country
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Italy Archive
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The New Italians
Would Claudia and Silvia come to love Italy? Would they think of Italy as their home? -
Ciao from Tuscany
On Via Pistoiese, Wenzhounese is the language most commonly heard, while Mandarin is second and Italian a distant third. Say the name “Prato” in Italy, one Pratese told me, and it’s now synonymous with Chinatown. -
Postcard Profile: John from Milan
"My grandparents on my father's side emigrated from Taiwan to Italy in the 1960s. We were one of the first Taiwanese families in Milano..." -
“Made in Italy” = The New “Made in China”?
True or False: “The Chinese are very clever. They’re not like other immigrants, who can be pretty thick." Q&A with a Chinese Italian about the conflict in Prato. -
Meet the Italian-Chinese
If I had any questions about whether Francisco and Bai were more European or more Chinese, their two-cheek kiss-hellos gave me my answer. -
Leave the Gun. Take the… Egg Rolls?
Prato, Italy. It's a classic Chinese immigrant story in many ways. Except for the whole mafia / sweatshop labor / human trafficking / prostitution / tax evasion thing.
