Barrio Chino (Chinatown)

The Barrio Chino is a section of Belgrano neighbourhood with a clear East Asian identity, arising from a boom in immigration from China, Japan and Thailand in the 1980s.

These immigrant families opened numerous restaurants and supermarkets, as well as one of the city’s first buddhist temples, the Chong Kuan temple in Calle Montañeses, which was inaugurated in 1988.

Starting from the large arch at the junction with Calle Juramento, Calle Arribeños is packed with supermarkets offering both western and oriental foods, decorative objects and other products. The shops are often particularly busy at the weekends. There are a number of oriental restaurants in Arribeños and in Mendoza.

Chinese New Year is a major event in the neighbourhood, taking place at the end of January or start of February.

Trivia

The 11-metre high stone and cement archway was made in China and brought to Argentina in pieces. a ser ensamblado en el acceso de la calle Arribeños. It has three levels of tiles, and is decorated with images of dragons and lions.