Photo of the day – Noodle Bar

Photo by: Roger Bradley, Taken on October 14, 2014

The history of the Chinese Community in Northern Ireland traces its roots to the early 1960s, when the first Chinese arrived here. Since this period their numbers have evolved progressively. Currently there are around 8000 Chinese resident in Northern Ireland, representing 51% of the total ethnic minority population. The Chinese community is currently the largest and most dispersed ethnic minority group living in the North. The majority of this community lives in the Greater Belfast Urban Area; there are also significant numbers in Craigavon, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and North Down. Irwin and Dunn, noted in their study of ethnic minorities, that the Chinese community is growing at a faster rate than the general population. A high proportion of the Chinese resident here, were born outside Northern Ireland, with seven out of ten of those having been born in Hong Kong. Other places of origin include China, Malaysia and Singapore. Entering for the purposes of employment is by far the most common reasons for moving to Northern Ireland; followed by requests for study visas and as spouses of British citizens. Source: Chinese Welfare Association

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.