Chinatown in Yangon

      The Chinatown of Yangon or so called Tayoke Tan lies west of the Sule Pagoda which is located in the centre of Downtown Yangon.
      Proceeding west along the Sule Pagoda Road, the 24th, 23rd, 22nd, 20th, 19th and 18th Streets and Bo Ywe, Latha and Sint Oh Dan Roads steaming with traffic are the busiest quarters of the city as it is in Chinatowns in other parts of the world. Those roads fall under the Latha Township.

      Yangon's Chinatown was created when the British expanded the city in the 1850s. It lies between Shwe Daung Tan Street on the west and Shwe Dagon Pagoda Road on the east. The northern and southern borders are the Maha Bandoola Road and the Strand Road.
      Discover Chinese medicine shops, gold and jewellery stores, restaurants and Chinese Temples. In the night Chinatown - especially 19th street with its restaurants - turns into a colourful nightmarket, full of food stalls with steaming dishes, snacks like fried insects, vegetables and fruits as mangoes, durians, mangosteens, pomelos, apples, tangerines, grapes, lichees, rambutan and banana banana. Hokkien Chinese lived along Strand Road while the Cantonese lived along Maha Bandoola Road.

      The major temples in Yangon Chinatown are the Cantonese Guan Yin Temple, (Guan Yin Gu Miao) and the Hokkien Keng Hock Keong, (Qing Fu Gong).  Major Chinese festivals and religious celebrations are held in the two temples while clan associations organize programs and celebrations for their members.

      Most of the Chinese live in this part of the city as which forms a town of their own. Business is blooming in this area and it has become a place as a tourist attraction too. During the Chinese New Year holiday, this part of the city is most crowded and red decorations can be seen everywhere. Walking through the Chinatown can give one an amazing experience.