THE EMERGENCE OF A .
CHINATOWN. AS A TOURIST SITE IN ANTWERP?
Paper for the sixth International Metropolis
Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 26-30 November 2001.
By Ching Lin Pang,
Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition
to Racism
Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology,
University of Leuven, Belgium
A.
Introduction
In www.visitantwerpen.be/NEDERLANDS/winkelen, the page on . shopping. of the official website
of the City of Antwerp, . Chinatown Antwerp. is recommended as a
shopping area (winkelwijk), worth a
visit.
. Across from the Central Station you will find
Chinatown. In the Van Wesenbekestreet
and at the Square Coninck there is a
wide range of specialised shops and supermarkets, offering Chinese, Thai and
other foreign food and other products.
Whereas many
questions arise when reading
this passage, the most salient issue one can point out seems to be
the unproblematic usage of the term . Chinatown. . It is precisely this unproblematic
use of Chinatown, which will be explored in this paper. First, we
retrace the development of the Chinese migration and restaurants in Antwerp.
Due to the lack of quantitative data like reliable figures a more
descriptive/qualitative approach will be adopted. Second, the concept of .
Chinatown. will be discussed in order to better understand its contemporary forms
such as satellite Chinatowns to long established . core. Chinatowns
and as tourist site, marketing ethnic diversity for tourist purposes. Third,
this last model of the thematized consumptive Chinatown will be applied to
the concrete case of Antwerp with reference to other . Chinatowns. in other
European cities.
B.
Development
of Chinese restaurants in Belgium and in Antwerp in particular
The first
Chinese arriving in the late 1920s and the 1930s were sailors working aboard of
ocean steamers and who jumped ship in major ports, among which also Antwerp.
The migration of this period tends to be fragmented. The city archive of the
city of Antwerp instructs us that most Chinese at that time originate from the
two traditional emigration provinces of China, namely Guangdong and Zhejiang.
Most of these bachelors did not settle permanently in Antwerp or other cities.
Their single status and their high mobility were not conducive to community
formation. However, they were part of the larger migration pattern of young
Chinese males from these coastal provinces to different European countries
(Pann 1994). Generally the ship owners were enthusiastic about their industry
and docility. European sailors loaded them because the Chinese represented a
threat for them, all the more since they were brought in as strike breakers as
in the case of the Netherlands (Wubben 1986). In Germany the employment of
Chinese seamen led to an open conflict in 1898 between the Chinese and the
local German workers (Gutinger 1998: 197). Many jumped ship in different
European ports including East London, Liverpool, Hamburg, Bremen, Rotterdam,
Amsterdam, Antwerp, etc. and set up laundries or worked in the boarding houses.
During WWI 100,000 Chinese workers from Shandong were contracted to work on the
Western front by both France and Britain. This has no direct bearing on the
Chinese in Belgium.
Chain migration
started to take off after
WWII, when Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong Chinese from the New Territories found
their way to Britain (Baker 1994; Watson 1975; Parker 1995), the Netherlands (Pieke
1987,1988; Rijkschroeff 1998), Belgium (Pang 1998;1999) and Germany (Gutinger
1998). Push factors in the country of origin in conjunction with
a relaxed immigration policy in most Western European countries accounted for the
emigration from the hinterland of Hong Kong to European cities as
London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, etc.
They set up restaurants serving immigrant Chinese food. In
contrast to the pioneering generation of immigrants, these Chinese men
were joined by their spouse, children and other family members/relatives. Although
there is a consensus that a large share of the Chinese
are involved in the catering service, figures are hard to find. First, the total
number of Chinese is estimated at 23,000 (Li 2000). Second, there is no instance,
which registers the number of Chinese restaurants. Third, given the high rate of
naturalization of the Chinese-both first and second generation-the figures of self-employed people
does not give an accurate figure, either since the criterion used
is the nationality. A crude instrument is the counting of the number
of Chinese restaurants in the Yellow Pages of the Telephone Book. In 1990 a total
of 194 Chinese restaurants were counted. This figure has increased to 235 in
1994 and to 261 in 2000. Aside from share increase, Chinese restaurants have undergone changes
as a response to changing opportunities in the market and lifestyle
of the consumer. The first generation Chinese restaurant tends to be small-scale
mom-and-pop shop with a minimum of personnel. Children under the guise of
. helping out. in fact substituted official and thus paid personnel.
The financing of the restaurant is generated within the own co-lineage/ethnic community,
where loans were made on the basis of trust and word of
honor without any written document. In terms of cooking experience and marketing of the product,
most newcomers worked for a while in a Chinese restaurant on the basis of
an . on-the-job-training. . The first generation restaurateurs have no
notion whatsoever of sophisticated marketing principles aside from the
most basic one, namely offering a product at a very low if not dumping price. They
succeeded in making profit by cutting on other costs such as personnel. Another
factor which explains the success of the Chinese restaurateurs, as most
of them have been quite upwardly mobile certainly in financial terms, is
that they by chance have found and further developed an ethnic niche in
a market, namely the demand for . exotic. food. In the 1960s and 1970s there
was a general trend of improvement of the general living standard and social
mobility from working to middle class status among the general populace of
the mainstream society. As a result the new members of the middle class wanting
to simulate the higher class, discovered the joy of eating out, which was
hitherto a privilege of the higher middle class. It is in this period of social,
economic and cultural changes that the Chinese entered the restaurant business
(Pang forthc.). In the mid-1980s the Chinese catering sector has
reached a high level of saturation. Business slowed down and some Chinese restaurants
responded to this negative trend by restructuration and rethinking the
menu. At this period many Chinese of the intermediate and second generation have
reached adulthood and became professionally active. As most of them did
not attend higher studies and as their parents have built out a lucrative business,
they mostly took over the restaurants. With a different business outlook
and ambition than their parents. generation, they upgraded the venue and
as well as changing the menu. In terms of interior refurbishing, the examples of
luxurious, grand, and almost . palace-like. restaurants became the desirable
norm. Thus, many restaurants have undergone a major face-lift. More qualified
personnel is recruited in the restaurant instead of relying on the labor
of the own children. More investment was made in equipment. Alongside the refurbishing
and expansion of the Chinese restaurant, there was also the tendency
to include more . authentic. dishes on the menu, dishes their customers
have eaten during a trip abroad or which they know from the media such as
leading life style magazines, culinary articles in newspapers, on television,
etc.
Besides the expansion
trend, there was and is a counter-tendency of downscaling at the other side
of the spectrum such as the mushrooming of take away shop, a formula imported
from Great Britain. However, fish and chips never became very popular in
Belgium. This formula was mostly adopted by those with less means given the low
entry in terms of personnel and financial resource. Basically a nuclear family
with one of two helping children can manage such a take away shop. Although
the Chinese are not overwhelmingly present in the recent trend of cosmopolitan
food in trendy urban neighborhoods, it is apt to state that Chinese
immigrant food enjoys a large popularity. Moreover, it has been completely
integrated in the daily eating practices in Belgium. Chinese immigrant
food is not only available in Chinese ethnic businesses but it is also
sold in mainstream supermarkets, local pubs, etc. Mainstream catering businesses
also serve some of these dishes. Oftentimes some ingredients, snacks and
dishes have become so mainstream that sometimes the . foreign. dimension is
no longer noticeable. Overall, all types of Chinese restaurants in Belgium in
the first place serve predominantly native customers. This is not an isolated
phenomenon but can be retraced in other European countries such as Britain and
the Netherlands.
C.
Typology
of Chinatown and the recent concept of Chinatown as a tourist area
The bachelor society
(Kwong
1996; Lin 1998a) is the result of a racial exclusionary policy. Chinese newcomers
were excluded from American citizenship by the Naturalization Act of
1790 and retained the status of resident aliens until the McCurran Walter act
of 1952. Through the Chinese exclusion act of 1882 until 1943, which bans
the immigration of Chinese for six decades. When the first . coolies. or
slave workers arrived in the US few of them brought their spouse along. With
the enactment of the Chinese exclusion act, immigration of Chinese laborers, men
and women, family reunification and mixed marriages were prohibited. The
ratio man/woman was 27 to 1 in 1890 (Lee in Kwong 1996:14) During the
early exclusion years from 1880-1910 the settlement pattern of the Chinese was
dispersed across from the western to the mid western and eastern states. From
1910 to 1940 the Chinese tend to live in urban ghetto. s and mostly active
in the restaurant and laundry sector as a result of discrimination in the
labor market, anti-Chinese sentiments and exclusion from entry in certain occupations
in some states. Chinatowns in the more rural areas died out with the
aging population, while Chinatowns flourish in the . urban frontier. of low rent
districts near waterfront or railroads or in red light districts, deemed
unsuitable for living by the whites.
The
immigrant enclave. As the US immigration policy has become more liberalized in
the 1965 the demographic composition of Chinatown changed from a bachelor to a
more family-based community. In the direct aftermath of WWII the War Brides Act
of 1946 allowed Chinese American veteran of WWII to bring their spouse and
children to the country. Students and professionals entered the US during the war,
who were granted the permission to remain in the country in the aftermath of
the war. After the establishment of the PRC in 1949 different displaced people
and refugee acts provided the opportunity for many Chinese students, scholars,
professionals, government workers who happen to be in the US to become American
citizens. However, it was the Hart-Cellar Act that fundamentally changed the
demographic composition. National origin quotas, hitherto privileging white
European immigrants were lifted. The 1965 law established seven quota-enforced
preference categories based on family reunification and special manpower
requirements. Among the Chinese newcomers, those who enter under the special
manpower requirements were mostly highly qualified professionals from the
middle class and those entering through family reunification came from a wide
range of socio-economic classes. After the improvement of the American-Chinese
diplomatic relations in 1979 more Chinese from the PRC entered through the
relaxation of the ban on exit visas.
Satellite
Chinatowns
The
emergence of satellite Chinatowns in the US is due to congestion in the core
Chinatown areas. The lack of space and the consequent high commercial rent
explain partly the move out of the core Chinatown. In addition some of the
out-movers are second generation upwardly mobile people aspiring for
home-ownership. Concurrently middle class immigrants from Taiwan join them in
these satellite Chinatowns. Given more prosperity in the satellite Chinatowns
they are able to attract more transnational capital, thereby bypassing the core
Chinatown. In the less prosperous satellite Chinatowns the same process of
leapfrogging the core Chinatown can be found. In this case the working class
Chinese move to Brooklyn since they cannot afford the rent in the original
Chinatown.
. Chinatown.
as a tourist attraction in the contemporary symbolic economy
It is argued that tourism,
which already represents a significant share of the urban economy with still
high growth potential offers immigrants an interface with the emerging kowledge
economy and the experience industry (Hannerz 1996; Pine and Gilmore 1999;
Rifkin 2000) or the so-called . symbolic economy. (Zukin 1995). By
drawing upon their specific resource of cultural diversity they are able to
carve out a niche for the own group. In Europe where immigration is of a more
recent date than in the traditional immigration countries of the US and Australia the
recasting of an immigrant neighborhood into a tourist area is quite new.
In the case of Chinatown London, it grew out of the settlement of shops and
restaurants for the Chinese and the presence of the social sector. In contrast to
the US where Chinatown has undergone many changes ranging from bachelor ghetto.
s, enclave economies and the more recent satellite Chinatowns the
concept of Chinatown London is part and parcel of this new trend of urban renewal
programs to upgrade main urban neighborhoods. It came into being when a significant
group of Chinese has migrated to Britain with a relative dispersed pattern,
although a majority tends to live in the greater London area. Their dispersed
pattern in contrast to the Chinese ghetto. s and enclave economies in
the US can be explained by their economic activities in the catering sector,
serving predominantly the white dominant group. Therefore there was no room for
clustering in one particular neighborhood as in the American context. However,
when the number of Chinese living in Britain increased as the time passed by, a
new necessity arose among the Chinese to have a neighborhood serving the own
ethnic food and products, which in turn attracted other businesses and
social/cultural activities primarily geared towards the own group. The
experiment of Chinatown London has proven to be quite successful since it is
ranked by the City Council as one of the top-ten attractions of the city.
Recasting .
Chinatown Antwerp. as a tourist site?
In the mid 1980s
one of the first supermarkets selling predominantly Chinese produce and objects
opened its door. It is located in the Van Wesenbekestraat in the immediate
vicinity of the Central train station. Prior to this establishment, the
indoor market . Criée. in the same street was visited by a lot of Chinese
restauranteurs. They came to this market on a very regular basis for purchasing
food and products for business and personal
purposes. This spontaneous meeting point of
Chinese restaurateurs prompted a Surinamese-Chinese family by way of
the Netherlands to open the above-mentioned supermarket in Antwerp. It has attracted other
businesses such as dim sum restaurants, video rental shops, Chinese bakeries, travel
agencies, dentists, doctors, acupuncturists, Buddhist temple, etc. This supermarket
is located in what is now commonly and conveniently called
. Chinatown of Antwerp. . At first these restaurants and services targeted
the Chinese. But very soon Belgians but also other immigrants and ethnic
minorities found their way to these shops. The presence of Belgian shoppers can
be explained by changing eating practices and more generally the overall lifestyle
becoming ever more cosmopolitan and multicultural. Moreover, given the expansion
of products not only from Asia but also from other parts of
the world such as Africa, other immigrants, newcomers and ethnic minorities started to
shop in this supermarket, too. Very soon after, many other Chinese supermarkets
were opened. In addition, in the 1990s some Thai supermarkets and cafés
surfaced in these two streets. Aside from a commercial function, these two streets
also serve as an informal meeting ground and thus major Chinese associations
have their office in this neighborhood, notably a) the Association of
the Chinese in Belgium, which is recognized by the PRC as the official
representative Chinese association in Belgium, b) the Chinese Association of Merchants, c)
the Association of the Chinese elderly, d) the Chinese school, run jointly
by the Association of the Chinese in Belgium and the Association of the
Chinese in Belgium. The last association organizes yearly the Chinese New Year,
of which the Lion Dance constitutes the main attractions. The Association of the
Merchants holds a yearly Chinese festival in the fall. This social
event consists of an open-air Chinese opera performance and a market of
food and . exotic. products. Both events attract a heterogeneous public, including Belgians
but also other immigrants and ethnic minorities, while receiving much
media coverage. Two Buddhist temples are located in the same
area, celebrating the major Buddhist festivals. Although their activities are generally
developed for the Chinese community given the exclusive usage of the
Chinese language (Cantonese and Mandarin), recently the more religious festivals such
as festival of the lights received much (local) media attention. Given the
different functions of this neighborhood, it has been conveniently labeled .
Chinatown. by many local government officials, journalists and inhabitants
of Antwerp . Chinatown. , while referring vaguely to Chinatowns
in San Francisco or New York. However, not much thought is given to the
notion of Chinatown and certainly the potential of . Chinatown as a tourist
site. has not received systematic attention or careful reflection. In the
further development of this notion of Chinatown as a tourist site more
collaboration and exchange of ideas, good practices and experience would be
useful with other European cities with a significant Chinese population such as
Rotterdam, Amsterdam, London, etc. This exercise is all the more interesting
given their manyfold commonalities. On the side of the Chinese, they share a
similar migration history, a common language (Cantonese), similar social class
in country of origin, similar professional activities in the country of
destination. Some share even similar family/lineage ties across national
boundaries. On the side of the receiving society, despite differences these
countries are basically Western European welfare states with a specific
immigration policy, comparable migrant policies, etc.
To
conclude, in fact, all the main ingredients are currently present in this
ethnic precinct but it needs imagination and structured collaboration between
the Chinese restauranteurs, local assocations and the local government, to make
something worthwile pursuing. What is lacking is a coherent vision, learning
from good practices abroad, the collaboration of all the players involved like
city council members, the Chinese and their organizations, the neighbors, the
visitors both from Antwerp and abroad and cultural organizations specialized in
setting up cultural/social events.
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