Chinatown in Havana, Cuba

My friend Hong suggested I visit Chinatown when I was in Havana, Cuba. He had told me about a Cuban who sings Chinese opera, and I tried to get information once I was in Havana, but no one knew anything. There is a large opera house in Havana, though I have no idea if the Chinese operas were performed there. The Great Theatre of Havana is a grand building, and quite close to Chinatown. It is the building on the left -

I tried 'googling' for Chinese opera in Cuba and found this interesting blog. The writer mentions that most of the Chinese community has now left.

When asking for directions to Chinatown, as I told not to expect anything like Chinatowns in other countries, as the one in Havana was small with very few signs of it being Chinese. It seems that the old Chinese community has been swallowed up and integrated.

My first sign of Chinatown was the large gateway -

This led into a small area that is generally quite run down and scruffy. As I had been told, there were very few signs suggesting it is, or was once, a Chinese area. Very few shops had signs, though there were a few restaurants.
This is the first section beyond the entrance-

There are 2 main parallel streets -

Dragones Road, house with huge wooden door, and decorative grilles on the windows

A shop, El Dragon Chino, the man inside on the phone is one of the few I saw with Chinese features -

A shop selling vegetables and fruit -

These 2 buildings both have Chinese signs, belonging to Lung Kong society  -

Typical street in Chinatown -

This is the end of Chinatown -

Some shops at Barrio Chino de la Habana, oficina del historiador de la ciudad (Chinese neighbourhood of Havana, historic city office) -

© Liz Price 
No reproduction without permission

Jalan Sultan mural, KL China Town

There was a lot in the press in Oct 2011 about the mural on the wall of a row of old shophouses on Jalan Sultan in China Town in Kuala Lumpur.

The Star 15 Oct "The badly weathered wall exposed following the demolition of six pre-war shophouses in Jalan Sultan 15 years ago will be the canvas of 60 artists at work today.

The original wall
The wall used to be peppered with peeling paint, broken bricks and even shrubs growing out of the gaps, so was primed up for the mural that will spread a loud message — Preserve Our Heritage.

It is deemed the most ideal location for the cause as the wall has been a sombre reminder of the loss of the six invaluable shophouses — including the iconic Chik Sin Thong funeral parlour and Hong Tou Guesthouse.
The artists, among them award-winning veterans and energetic young talents, will be painting the mural together from 9am on a voluntary basis to express their views and emotions about heritage preservation."

Dulux sponsored the paint as well as the cleaning and priming of the wall that took about three days due to the rainy weather.

The event is the highlight of The Star’s Preserve Our Heritage campaign that was started when 30 century-old buildings in Jalan Sultan were acquired to make way for the MRT project.

On the 18th Oct I went to have a look. The idea is great but it is a pity the paintings are so small - each artist is given only a space of 25" x 25".

Even a couple of large stones have been painted -

This 'graffiti' is on a nearby building -

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission