Chinatown, Asian commercial district in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chinatown is an Asian commercial district in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, running mainly along Arribeños and Mendoza streets. The entrance is marked by a three-level stone archway decorated with dragon and lion figures imported from China.

The area was a middle-class residential zone of Belgrano until the late 20th century, when Taiwanese families settled around the Sin Heng Nuevo Avivamiento Presbyterian Church at Mendoza 1660. The 1980s wave opened Asian restaurants and shops, and the Chong Kuan Buddhist temple was inaugurated on Montañeses in 1988. In 2006 the city rejected a request to designate the sector an official barrio.

The area's name comes from the Chinese New Year celebration held here each year, when Arribeños fills with dragon puppets and floats moving to traditional music. The Chong Kuan Buddhist temple, opened in 1988 on Montañeses street, was one of the city's first Buddhist temples. The district also concentrates manga and anime shops and fishmongers known for their variety.

Most shops and restaurants open in the morning and close in the evening, with weekends bringing more activity and larger crowds. You can explore the main streets on foot since everything is concentrated within a few blocks.

The 2009 arch was a gift for Argentina's Bicentennial, paid for by the Chinese government at a cost of about $500,000. It was installed without formal authorization from Argentina's Foreign Ministry, and city bodies had already rejected the donation in 2006 and 2007. Some Belgrano residents, including Taiwanese neighbours, opposed it.