​More on being a local tourist!  China Town

We quite like something a bit different and perhaps something with a cultural focus e.g., Vietnamese or African - lots of yummy eating experiences there! or as we did Tuesday - explore the history of the Chinese community in Melbourne.

Facing Heaven Archway with the museum in the background.

Our starting point - the Chinese Museum in Cohen Place Melb CBD. It’s easy to find. Walk through the Facing Heaven Archway, check out the bronze statue of the founder of modern China, Dr Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925) and then wander down the alley to the museum entrance which is guarded by a replica terracotta warrior. The museum’s 4 floors are packed with fascinating information from the basement (devoted to those brave Chinese who came to the goldfields in the mid 1800s), we ascended to the top floors which are devoted to the Han dynasty and Chinese in Melbourne today.

Confucius 551-479 BC. 

Colourful figures from street parades.

This is a favourite eatery for us. Simple but terrific food. The building dates to 1905 and became the Empress of China in 1971. It was the first upmarket restaurant in the area to use white table cloths.

We discovered so much! For instance in 1857 there were over 25000 Chinese in Victoria only 3 of whom were women. They really did it tough! Many gold seekers arrived in Adelaide because there were bars on Chinese entry to Victorian ports. These stalwart people walked 500 odd miles to the goldfields where more penalties awaiting them (we have visited a place called Chinaman Well in the Coorong, one of their stopping points on their long journey east). Ah .... the mighty White Australia policy. What a shocker!

A jade burial suit. made of small slabs of multi coloured jade stitched together.

But moving heaven-ward passing by a huge curving dragon, we wandered for at least an hour reading about the Han Dynasty 206 BC to 220 AD, an expanding empire during that period taking in Central Asian regions and as far south as Vietnam. The Han dynasty, a large empire which existed at the same time as the Roman Empire in fact there were diplomatic relations between the two empires. Ahha- the Silk Road and the exchange of cultures and trade. The inventions during that period were many and quite amazing to learn about. For instance paper making, negative numbers (a bit geeky perhaps but mathematically significant), ship rudder, the chain pump, the belt drive and more!

This is the first Seismograph designed by Zhang Zheng, 1st century AD. He was a brilliant astronomer, mathematician, inventor and poet.

Incidentally just as an aside, in the 1500s China and India combined represented 87% of the global economy. Yet in 1953 China held less than 10%. Today however it is returning to its former glory - it is the 2nd most powerful economy in the world. But back to Tuesday .....
We topped off our visit with Yum Cha at the Shark Fin Inn where we have enjoyed lots of delectable mouthfuls over the years. If you’re going make sure you’re there before 12:15 else you’ll have to line up. Recommended - the prawn and pork dumplings, scallops and prawns cooked in scallop shells with melted cheese of top yummy, and of course the custard tarts.
Fantastic day, actually it was little more than half a day. So very doable but there’s lots more to see of Chinese culture, participation and contributions in that part of old Melbourne. Do it!

Yum Cha at Shark Fin Inn. Bon appetite!