Chinese Colombians

### Regions with significant populations

Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellin, Santa Marta, Manizales, Cucuta and Pereira.

### Languages

Colombian Spanish, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin and Hakka

### Religions

Buddhism and Roman Catholicism

**Chinese Colombians** are Colombian citizens of Chinese ancestry who immigrated were born in or have immigrated to Colombia. As of 2014, an estimate 160,000 Chinese live in Colombia.

## History

The first Chinese immigration to Colombia began in the mid-19th century, they arrived for the construction of the Panama Canal Railway that would later cross the isthmus because European labor from other countries was not enough. Most of the ethnic Chinese came from the province of Guangdong and were working on the Pacific Railroad, which is located on the west coast of the United States. The Chinese were subjected to conflicts by the Irish who were still in Panama and occupied very hard jobs. The majority of the Chinese were in a situation of depression that affected their health and work performance.

Despite of adversities, an important number of Chinese people managed to complete the railway construction and settle in Panama. However, a significant number of these immigrants moved to other cities in Colombia, including Barranquilla, Buenaventura and Cartagena in search of new opportunities.

In the early 20th century, Barranquilla became an industrial city with commercial and work opportunities, became the main destination of the Chinese. The immigrants dedicated themselves by growing crops, retailing areas, and laundries. The Chinese prospered and grouped together in the only "Chinatown" that has existed in any of the Colombian cities. From Barranquilla the descendants of the Chinese gradually entered other cities of the Colombian Caribbean during the twentieth century.

Another destination in the Colombian territory of the Chinese came from Panama was the city of Buenaventura, located on the Pacific coast of Colombia and the main port of arrival for travelers from Eastern countries. General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera got the Congress of the Republic to approve the import of 1,000 Chinese to work on the road of wheels to Buenaventura, following the example of the builders of the Panama Railroad.

## Notable people

* Farina Franco, singer of Peruvian and Chinese descent.
* Li Jun Li, actress.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131018051535/http://www.ocac.gov.tw/download.asp?tag=P&file=DownFile/File\_17979.pdf&no=17979. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chinese organizations in Colombia
3. ↑ "Las culturas asiáticas escondidas en Colombia" (in Spanish). panoramacultural.com. https://panoramacultural.com.co/index.php?option=com\_content&view=article&id=5007:las-culturas-asiaticas-escondidas-en-colombia&catid=21&Itemid=145. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
4. ↑ Girrado, Laura. "El verdadero cuento chino". https://www.eluniversal.com.co/suplementos/facetas/el-verdadero-cuento-chino-266858-ICeu380293. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
5. ↑ Patiño, Germán. "Chinos y japoneses" (in Spanish). *Semana.com*. https://www.semana.com/especiales/articulo/chinos-japoneses/81654-3. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
6. ↑ "La diáspora china: un acercamiento a la migración china en Colombia" (in Spanish). scielo.org. http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci\_arttext&pid=S0123-885X2012000100007. Retrieved 11 January 2011.