Waves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout history. They include the emigration to Southeast Asia beginning from the 10th century during the Tang dynasty, to the Americas during the 19th century, particularly during the California gold rush in the mid-1800s; general emigration initially around the early to mid 20th century which was mainly caused by corruption, starvation, and war due to the Warlord Era, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War; and finally elective emigration to various countries. Most emigrants were peasants and manual labourers, although there were also educated individuals who brought their various expertises to their new destinations. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York City has accelerated, and its Flushing (法拉盛), Queens neighborhood has become the present-day global epicenter receiving Chinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration.
Established in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants, Chinatown, Melbourne is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World and the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Singapore. Singapore is a Chinese-majority multi-cultural and multi-racial country in Southeast Asia.
Chinatown, Flushing (法拉盛) in Queens, New York City has become the present-day global epicenter receiving Chinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration.
Chinese people in New York City
The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest and most prominent ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, hosting Chinese populations representing all 34 provincial-level administrative units of China. The Chinese American population of the New York City metropolitan area was an estimated 893,697 as of 2017, constituting the largest and most prominent metropolitan Asian national diaspora outside Asia. New York City itself contains by far the highest ethnic Chinese population of any individual city outside Asia, estimated at 628,763 as of 2017.
The Chinese American experience has been documented at the Museum of Chinese in America in Manhattan's Chinatown since 1980.
Crossing Canal Street in the Manhattan Chinatown, facing Mott Street toward the south
Little Fuzhou is a sub-neighborhood within Chinatown, Manhattan, the highest concentration of Chinese people outside Asia.
Pell Street, Manhattan Chinatown