ImagesBrighton pictures of the week 28-2-2005

IMAGESBRIGHTON photography by david gray
	L O N D O N ' S C H I N A T O W N
	P I C T U R E S O F T H E W E E K 2 8 - 2 - 2 0 0 5

The Chinese community in London settled first by the docks in Limehouse, but it has since spread widely across the capital. During the 1960s, Gerrard Street in Soho became a centre for Chinese restaurants, shops and gambling clubs and this area is now London's Chinatown even if most Chinese Londoners live elsewhere. Previous occupants of Gerrard Street included John Dryden and James Boswell and the street has a long history of artistic activity and night life. This week's pictures come from a daytime walk around the district in February, just after the Chinese New Year celebrations. It's now the year of the rooster, which is supposed to herald good fortune. Hopefully it will, although a new property development at the eastern end of Gerrard Street threatens to push up rents and change the character of this lively slice of central London.

New Year dragons in a box outside a shop in Wardour Street (image 2594-68)

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