III.1. EUROPE'S "CHINATOWN"

MENU: 3.1. Europe's "Chinatown"

EUROPE'S LARGEST ASIAN NEIGHBORHOOD IS ON PARIS'S SOUTHEASTERN FRINGE

(IN THE 13TH DISTRICT)

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Symbols: towers and color 

  

 Asia's European pivot

• A walk where cultures mix

• Colors of streets and shops

• High-rises built ahead of their time

• Beyond the towers

• Some of the restaurants

•  Asians emerge from the shadows

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 3.1.1.

A walk where cultures mix

III.1.1. A WALK WHERE CULTURES MIX

TWO STREETS PIERCE THROUGH THE SOUTHEASTERN FRINGE...

(AVENUES DE CHOISY AND D'IVRY)

And an area that is French and Asian.

      Adapted from a Google map

Pharmacy on Avenue de Choisy

Start with avenue de Choisy

• "Porte" (gate) de Choisy 

• The Arc of Fraternity

• There and nearby, cultures intertwine

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Next,

 Porte ("gate") de Choisy 

START AT "PORTE" (GATE) DE CHOISY

 

Follow Avenue de Choisy to the crossroad:

Adapted from a Google map

   

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Next,

Come to "L'Arche de la Fraternité"

COME TO "L'ARCHE DE LA FRATERNITÉ"

IT THANKS FRANCE FOR WELCOMING REFUGEES

(AT 72 AVENUE DE CHOISY)

Since 2014, The City has allocated 5% of its investment budget (100 million euros in 2018) to projects that citizens propose and vote for, in the fields of health, education, environment, the arts, sports... .  

The Grand Arch of Fraternity by Georges Rousse, 2015

It comes from the neighborhood vote in 2015

Voting in front of the 13th's City Hall

Next,

There and nearby, cultures intertwine

THERE AND NEARBY, CULTURES INTERTWINE

A poster in the neighboring Gaul area suggests that some passers-by can read Chinese...

Sign next to a French bookstore on rue de Tolbiac...

Learned through the classes given next door? 

On rue Sthrau, around the corner

     

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Next,

3.1.2.

Colors of streets and shops

III.1.2. COLORS OF STREETS AND SHOPS

THE WALK CONTINUES. COLOR IS EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED

Stores on avenue d'Ivry

In brief

• The other artery (avenue d'Ivry)

• A cluster of shops at the crossroad

• A street that seems ordinary at first

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Next,

The other artery (avenue d'Ivry)

THE OTHER ARTERY (AVENUE D'IVRY)

WHEN YOU REACH THE CROSSROAD, TURN AROUND AND STROLL UP AVENUE D'IVRY

Adapted from a Google map

The 200 fountains of 1900 are green...

Fountain 10 minutes away.

Except here...

The stairs on avenue d'Ivry lead to Olympiades.

Where color is everywhere:

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Next,

A cluster of shops on the crossroad

A CLUSTER OF SHOPS ON THE CROSSROAD

ON AVENUE D'IVRY YOU COME TO THIS JUNCTION

Take rue de Tolbiac. We will return to Avenue de Choisy later. 

 

To its left:

Soleil d'Asie

130 rue de Tolbiac

To its right:

The first shops mentioned below are behind the red car.

• A tiny shop chock-full of Vietnamese wares, present since 1987

Shanghai

      120 rue de Tolbiac

 

"Arms are a witness of the past and of technical skill [...] and are marked by beliefs and dreams." 

The second vest I have bought there.

Monsieur Kang may tell about the civilization that produced these wares.

 

• Next to it, a humdrum facade and splendid tableware from Japan

China art 

      120 rue de Tolbiac

• Next door, a skin care salon, for whose excellent services one must often reserve a week in advance (since 2020).

Makina Beauté Paris

118 rue de Tolbiac

It had been a place for money transfers to Asia, often in cash from the neighboring restaurants. When an inspector asked to see the receipts, the owner left. 

 

Yue and Guillaume Guillet bought the site:

 "We worked in an office... ."  

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The rest of the street seems ordinary at first

A STREET THAT SEEMS ORDINARY AT FIRST

THE TREES ARE PLEASANT, THE BUILDINGS BANAL... 

Rue de Tolbiac beyond the crossroad.

But you soon pass what sets the neighborhood apart:

• Street art

• A City-run center for center for youth 

PHOTO

• An escalator: Please read on.  

View from the top of the escalator.

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At the bus and métro stop, vendors from Bangladesh sold exotic fruit and vegetables...

A vendor under the snow.

Until the police forbade them (in 2022).

I miss the avocados, mangoes and herbs,

and the smiles of courage and good humor.

# # #

Added in August 2025: 

These vendors are back!

In early September,

 they're still there.

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Next,

3.1.3.

High-rises built ahead of their time