French Chinese Street knows where it is.

Paris is an international metropolis, and the whole city is divided into 2 districts. For many years, Europeans, Asians, blacks, gypsies ... many ethnic groups have lived together in this beautiful land. Among many foreign "ethnic minorities", Chinese play an important and irreplaceable role. After more than 1 years of continuous hard development and hard work, there are not only numerous and quite mature societies, but also a proud and unique world of Chinese-Chinatown.

The Chinatown in Paris is located in the 13th district, not far from Plaza Italia. The roads extend in all directions and the traffic is very convenient.

Walking in the street here, everything seems so familiar. The signboards in front of almost every store are written in Chinese characters, and the architectural pattern is also built according to the traditional style of China. Several large shops, even carved beams and painted buildings, are very particular. In front of some small restaurants, there are actually "scorpions" that are rarely seen in China today. Seeing me stop and watch, my face was full of curiosity. My friend who accompanied me to the shopping leaned in and explained half jokingly, "See, this is what highlights the characteristics of China! Many foreigners come here, and this is what they rushed. " Said, and pointed out the small "wine complications" dancing in the wind. In fact, after understanding the development history of Chinese in Paris, it is not difficult to understand the owner's painstaking efforts.

It is said that as early as around the 17th century, people from China came here one after another. It was during the First World War that a large number of Chinese really set foot on French territory. As a participating country, it has exported labor to France, Britain, Russia and other countries, reaching 23 thousand people. There were 14, people who arrived in France. Although they didn't go to the front line to fight personally, they did a lot of dirty work in transportation, rescue, and even digging trenches and burying the dead. There are nearly 1 thousand people who have become the ghosts of foreign countries and stayed in this land forever. After the war, most people returned to the motherland, and only a few stayed and became expatriates. When celebrating the 7th anniversary of the victory of World War I, the French President personally awarded the Knights of the Legion of Honor to the two remaining China laborers living in a foreign land in recognition of their "spirit of international cooperation". But the pain brought by the war to the people of China can not be compensated by just two medals. The only consolation is that the history of hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers bleeding and sweating has finally been affirmed by the local government.

After the mid-197s, the situation in Indochina was turbulent. As the sovereign state, France accepted many refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Among them, more than 8% are descendants of Chinese. The Paris government has set aside a simple residential area that locals don't want to go to to settle these people. Who knows, in just over ten years' effort, the "slum" with narrow streets and sewage has undergone earth-shaking changes. Tall buildings have risen from the ground. Flat and wide roads extend in all directions. There are rows of shops on both sides, and all kinds of goods are dazzling. Today, it has not only become one of the enviable residential areas in Paris, but also a tourist hotspot for tourists from all over the world to visit. As the locals joked, "Buy a subway ticket and you can visit China."

The brilliance of Chinatown today is inseparable from the hard work of the older generation of expatriates and the hard work of the new generation of expatriates. In the early years, people who left their homes to come here only rented in some short shacks not far from the railway station. Make a living by sewing some small leather goods such as bags by hand, or open a small grocery store and set up a food stall. Ben is selfish and often bullied by white people. But they all made it through. They work all day long, and the rewards they get from hard work are all cherished, and they live frugally. Later, some people started their own small restaurants and workshops with a little money accumulated over the years. But most of them are just husband and wife files, or family-run businesses. In this way, some Chinese-dominated enterprises have gradually developed and various forms of associations have been organized. In this way, we can not only strive for equality and respect with collective strength, but also help some Chinese who have no livelihood to get out of trouble as soon as possible. Chen Brothers Company is an outstanding representative of these successful Chinese enterprises. Since they moved to Paris from Laos in 1975, Kunzhong and his wife, whose ancestral home is Guangdong, have opened a supermarket to deal in goods from China and Southeast Asian countries. Good quality and low price, complete varieties of goods, and diligent work style have continuously improved business performance, and now it has become one of the top 1 enterprises in France. In addition, South China Food Company, which supplies spring rolls to major supermarkets in Paris, introduced Chinese-made "Double Happiness" table tennis to French Youxin Sporting Goods Company, Lingnan Thai Bakery, which specializes in Cantonese-style cakes, and Huafeng Domestic Products Company, which deals in Asian goods, especially China, have mushroomed. Listening to their legendary development experience is really touching and exciting. On them, don't they just reflect the traditional virtues of hard work, wisdom and perseverance of our Chinese nation?

Besides, there are two places where Chinese people gather in Paris. First, it is located in "Wenzhou Street" in the third district. It is said that its origin is more legendary. Originally, this place was dominated by blacks and Arabs. However, when the first Chinese restaurant opened, followed by the second and third ... unconsciously, the whole street was almost "occupied" by Chinese from Wenzhou, Zhejiang. There are only a few small shops left, looking at the thriving business there, and people are coming and going, but they are left out here, so they have to change their faces. When they reluctantly left, they didn't understand how these "poor boys" who were empty-handed and broke at the beginning defeated themselves. The reason is very simple. Unity, willingness to endure hardships and small profits but quick turnover are the magic weapons to win.

The other place is "China City" on the banks of the Marne River, which is also a magnificent Chinese architectural complex. In addition to restaurants, multi-function halls, hanging gardens and shopping malls, there are also glass pagodas with China characteristics. In a word, both French and foreigners visiting Paris have another good place to enjoy the splendid culture of the East.

According to friends, many Chinese communities are actively trying to find ways to educate the "third generation", "fourth generation" and even their children and grandchildren, not to forget their ancestors and learn more about the motherland. I sincerely wish these new generations of overseas Chinese, like their ancestors and fathers, that although they are in a foreign land, their hearts are always oriented towards the motherland.