Sydney's Chinatown is a colourful mixture of asian culture, shopping and cuisine. The area's distinctly oriental architecture, street lanterns and archways confirm it as a showpiece for Australian Chinese culture.

In the late 19th century, Chinatown was located in the Rocks area of Sydney and later moved to the area near Market Street at Darling Harbour. By the 1920s, it began to be established in its current location.

Chniatown's Dixon Street
In recent years Chinatown has extended from the bounds of Dixon, Hay and Sussex Streets to encompass a much larger area bounded by George Street in the east and Darling Harbour in the west.
This expansion is complemented by the influx of east asian immigrants bringing with them exotic cooking styles and cuisines. The eateries in Chinatown serve authentic Asian dishes throughout the day until 4am in some cases.
The food halls offer a variety of cuisine and exceptionally reasonable prices.

There is a 'pedestrian only' mall along the section of Dixon Street bounded Paifangs, at the Goulburn Street end in the north and one at Hay Street in the south.
The paved mall is considered the heart of Chinatown and leads through the centre of the older, more established section. The distinctly Chinese style of buildings that line Dixon Street mall are home to many of the district's excellent restaurants. This area is popular with tourists and is home to an eclectic mix of asian grocery stores where you can buy Chinese medicinal herbs, clothing, homewares and exotic foods.

At the southern end of Dixon Street, Market City contains a range of specialty shops including Sydney's largest Asian supermarket and a host of big name factory outlet clothing stores. On the ground floor of the building is Sydney's famous Paddy's Markets.

Events
Chinatown also hosts a number of performances throughout the year in line with the Chinese calendar celebrations. Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival is held in Chinatown over 3 weeks in February and is one of the largest and most spectacular Lunar New Year celebrations outside Asia.

Admission to Chinatown is free.
Chinatown is an easy 15 minute walk from Central railway station. A light rail service operates from Central to Haymarket (named for the 1800s corn and cattle markets held there), just outside Chinatown. The nearest Sydney Explorer stop to Chinatown is stop number 17.

Sydney's original Chinese community settled in The Rocks, but moved here in the early 1900s. Many of these people were market gardeners and traders, and shops and restaurants naturally followed, especially in Dixon Street, the heart of Chinatown.

Nearby Liverpool Street boasts Sydney's growing 'Spanish Quarter' and the region is also home to the City's cinema precinct, Central Station and the Light Rail terminus, Belmore Park and the vast World Square development.

Unlike the Chinatowns in some other countries, Sydney's Chinatown has been relatively free of crime and hygiene issues. However since there are many skyscrapers in Sydney, there are some concerns within the Chinese community about the building height restrictions imposed by the image-conscious local government authorities.

There are also satellite Chinatowns that have emerged in the past two decades in several Sydney suburbs such as Cabramatta,Ashfield, Hurstville, Eastwood, Campsie, Parramatta, Chatswood, Burwood and Flemington. But Sydney's Chinatown still remains a major focus for the Chinese Australian community.