Of course, when in Toronto two weeks ago, we ended up in Chinatown—again. Looks like I can never really escape my Chinese roots—wait a minute… I’m not Chinese!
Nonetheless, I feel at home in crowded Chinatown. The smell of the food, the colourful signs and displays, the multicultural atmosphere make me feel good. Plus, it’s a great place to take pictures. It’s not easy though. From my experience, people get really nervous when you pull out a camera in Chinatown. I usually don’t have problems to shoot whatever I feel like it but each time I was eyed suspiciously as a photographer, it was in Chinatown. The funny thing is, still from my experience, most Chinese love to take pictures. Hell, each time I went to China, I had to pose for pictures!
In the evening, we had the best baozi (small steamed buns filled with cabbage, meat, etc.) in a small restaurant—my favourite food!
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Wow. China Town. It’s really depressing that Scandinavian countries don’t have china towns 🙁
.-= this indonesian´s last blog ..Waiting for the world (YOU!) to change =-.
I love that all the signs are in Chinese and so colorful! It totally changes the mood of the area on what was otherwise a grey day.
.-= Soleil´s last blog ..Emotionally Drained =-.
Love the pictures, it looks much bigger than the one in Montreal!
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..San Diego, une ville à aimer =-.
I totally know what you are saying!! Chinatown here in Vancouver is like my sanctuary when I get really badly Shanghai-sick and need to get back to the familiar comfort of street snacks, loud crowds and market places. Toronto’s one seems so much more vibrant and bustling than Vancity’s though.
Wow, that is a much bigger Chinatown than Montreal’s! Lots of Chinese signs on the buildings.. I thought the red girl with a large bowl is the logo of a Japanese’s noodle place, however, I am not sure either. It looks like it..:)
.-= micki´s last blog ..Taipei 101 Skyscraper =-.
I love the Chinatowns…they got the best food ! 🙂
This is a very lively Chinatown. Different from that of Montreal.
I see quite a few buses in the pictures. Looks like public transportation is not bad in Toronto.
.-= khengsiong´s last blog ..PC Fair, Booth Babes & Others =-.
i wanted a little camera i could carry in my pocket or in my purse. but i find people are more suspicious of little cameras than they are of big cameras.
i don’t know why.
maybe because people seem to be more ‘artistically serious’ with a big camera?
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Promiscuous Women / Divine Retribution =-.
Chinatown is great for taking photos. I mean, people will stare, but they won’t tell you to stop. I loved taking photos in Vancouver’s Chinatown when I lived there.
.-= Gail at Large´s last blog ..Queen Street Crepes =-.
Fabulous pictures – they make me want to pay a nighttime visit to Chinatown!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Weekend Summary =-.
Wow, it really looks like a great place to visit.
.-= Yogi´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Oil Capital =-.
Hey I can see the buzz even at night ya. Love wanton soup especially the ones with prawns 😀
Hi Zhu,
Marvellous pics (as always).
Chinatown seems a vibrant place – day and night :D! Definitely a place to visit!
Have a great weekend, darling!
.-= Max Coutinho´s last blog ..Vanity Fare =-.
I had no idea Torontos Chinatown was so big!!! Reminds me of the one in New York. I wish we had a little Chinatown in Oslo. We do have restaurants but they are mostly spread out, although there are several Asian supermarkets in one section of the City. Looks Great, and as always cool photos!
多伦多的唐人街看起来好像比伦敦的大许多哦！
不过，伦敦唐人街的位置却相当理想，就好比市中心的心脏那样。
往上有Oxford St (shopping);往下有St James’s Park (nature);往左有West End (theatres);往右有Holborn (offices)
.-= London Caller´s last blog ..Abstract playground / 抽象的游乐场 / Taman kanak-kanak yang abstrak / 抽象的な遊び場 =-.
It’s an absolute nightmare driving around down there, however the sites are great. I shudder though just thinking about the driving…..
Great photos,
Gill
.-= Gill´s last blog ..Another mystery solved and flaps up, flaps down….. =-.
@this indonesian – That’s too bad. It’s rare too: most countries I’ve been to had some kind of Chinatown.
Glad you found me again! I lost you when you closed your old blog 🙂
@Soleil – Yes, the signs really take you halfway across the world. I love them!
@Cynthia – Oh yes, it is! The one in Montreal was a bit too small I found.
@Ines – I’m pretty sure the one in Vancouver is bigger. I mean, it has to be, Vancouver is such an “Asian” city! Or maybe it’s a stereotype?
@micki – Mmm… It may be a Japanese place. I think the sign above was in Chinese, but it could be Japanese food advertised in Chinese!
@Sidney – Totally!
@khengsiong – Toronto has pretty good public transportation: bus, the red rocket (tramway) and a subway. Better than Ottawa, for sure! Yes rush hour can be brutal, especially given the number of people who live in the greater Toronto.
@Seraphine – I find people are way more suspicious when I have my “big” camera (DSLR). The small one is a “tourist camera”, the big one means business. That’s what I imagine people think.
But eh, these days people have cameras on cell phones… so really, you can’t hide from pictures and crazy photographers 🙂
@Gail at Large – Really? I’ve been told to not take picture of really innocent things (like signs) tons of time. After I took the night pictures, we went to a restaurant and while I was reviewing the pictures on the camera, the waitress rushed to tell me to put it away.
@Beth – You should! There are some awesome restaurants too. Try one that say “North East China” (right beside the place captioned “waiting for someone”). The food was great!
@Yogi – I did enjoy it a lot.
@shionge – Wanton soups are great, especially when it’s cold outside! They are so comforting….
@Max Coutinho – Chinatowns always look good at night from my experience – must be all the signs!
@DianeCA – Oh yeah, the one in Toronto is huge. It’s a whole neighborhood, really.
@London Caller – Same for TO, the Chinatown is right downtown, it’s a good location. Most Chinatowns are very central I find.
@Gill – Driving in Toronto is not for me, for sure!
Salut Zhu,
Very nice, dear lady.
It was good to feel another place where I have no attachments.
I was just losing myself a few instants… Which is in part, why I like to travel, for the experiences and feeling of places.
J’espère que la vie est belle pour toi. Ici, le devise est ” jour par jour”. C’est long et on se sent encore triste, mais c’est normal après un deuil.
Je ne vais pas toucher à mon blog pour l’instant.On verra bien… Je n’abandonne pas; je marque une pause.
Je t’embrasse et je te souhaite bonne continuation. Continue à profiter de la vie.
xxx
I’ve been there! I think I had the best dimsum ever in Toronto’s Chinatown a couple of years ago!
.-= Linguist-in-Waiting´s last blog ..End of Semester =-.