About.

'Wander East' explores London's first 'Chinatown,'  based in the East End in Limehouse. Limehouse Chinatown was most prominent from 1890-1930.

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Early  Chinese migrants and travelers to Britain consisted of diplomats, officials as well as students. However, the 'Chinese community' really grew with the increase in international shipping trade in the docks, giving wat to the settlement of some of the Chinese seamen around the dock areas of East London. Businesses emerged to cater to the transient sea-faring communities,creating a variety of Chinese run businesses from hand laundries, lodging houses to cafes and restaurants.



 There has always been a history of tourism to the East End and to places like Limehouse Chinatown in particular. This was a result of the reputation that was attributed to Limehouse Chinatown, as with many 'foreign' quarters in East London. The Limehouse based chinese community although small were very visible, partly as a result of media sensationalism  and fictional literature such as Arthur Sax Rohmer's internationally read, 'Dr.Fu Manchu,' who epitomised the 'yellow peril,' the 'threatening' nature of the Chinese.  Thomas Cook travel agency led tours through West India Dock Road, showcasing the East End and Chinatown. This type of tourism, of travelling from more 'respectable' parts of London to East London came to be known as 'slumming,' and as a way of engaging with the underbelly of London. These 'unofficial' tourist attractions slowly came to be incorporated into London guidebooks.

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This audio tour was developed as part of the MA Heritage Studies program at the University of East London. Essentially it is a place study, experimenting with the use of digital mediums as a form of engaging the public with heritage. The trail attempts to critically engage in some of the myths around Limehouse Chinatown.

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