A Guide To Kolkata's Chinapara

Located in a neighbourhood near Lalbazar in central Kolkata, Tiretta Bazaar used to be known as the Old China Market. Here you will find Chinese temples (or churches, as they are known), clubs, provision stores, and even a morning breakfast ritual. Records state that Atchew or Tong Achew was the first Chinese to settle in Calcutta (as Kolkata was then known) in the late 18th century. An entry in the Bengal District Gazetteers, 24 Parganas, mentions that the East India Company's Governor General Warren Hastings granted Tong Achew land on which he established a sugar manufacturing plant. The sugar mill closed after Atchew's death, but many of the Chinese workers relocated to Kolkata and were later joined by others from different communities in China. For instance, the Haka community, the Cantonese, the Hupey, and those from Shanghai. The Chinese community set up homes and trades such as dentistry, leather tanning and manufacturing, shoemaking, restaurants, and beauty parlours. Wander down the narrow lanes, spotting age-old Chinese temples, stores, and restaurants that have shaped the neighbourhood and given India its only Chinatown. Here's a guide to the must-have experiences.