Liverpool Chinatown walking tour

You might have grown up in Liverpool, or perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing these stories. That’s exactly the point: there is always more to uncover. The history of Chinatown is not just about the celebrations at Lunar New Year but between places, people, and identities. How did the movement of people between China and Liverpool shape our city? How do those strands help us reimagine the community today?

Artists and researchers Beatrice Png and Emily Beswick have crafted a walking tour about the history of Chinatown and its communities. Drawing on their previous research and tour experience, they use personal narratives and visual sources to bring stories to life.

Starting at the memorial to the repatriation of Chinese seamen, our tour will address painful histories of racism, forced separation and colonialism, and stereotypical representations in the archive. We ultimately hope to redress some of these histories through foregrounding everyday experiences of migration and diasporic homemaking.

The walking distance is approximately 1.2 miles, mostly flat with some cobbled streets, and it is wheelchair accessible. The tour will begin at the Repatriation Memorial, Pier Head Liverpool Waterfront, before heading towards Cleveland Square, opposite L1 Bus Station. From there, we will walk down Pitt Street and Upper Pitt Street, continuing to Great George Square before finishing at the Chinatown Arch. The tour will take approximately two hours to complete.

There will be two walking tours, at 11am-1pm on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd February.

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Host or Publisher Emily Beswick, University of Liverpool