Chinatown, Melbourne

Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the Central Business District of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Centred at the eastern end of Little Bourke Street, it extends between the corners of Swanston and Spring Streets, and consists of laneways, alleys and arcades. It is notable for being the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World and the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere.Since the arrival of Chinese immigrants during the Victorian gold rush of the early 1850s, Melbourne's Chinatown has played an important role in establishing the culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in Australia, and is still home to many Chinese restaurants, cultural venues, businesses and places of worship. Today, Melbourne's Chinatown is a major tourist attraction, known for its architectural heritage, annual festivals and cuisines of Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Korean origins.Beyond Chinatown, Melbourne's Chinese community is well-represented in other areas of the city, such as Box Hill and Glen Waverley.