[7] From 1841 to 1997, Hong Kong and the New Territories served as the final colonial stronghold of the British Empire for a significant period spanning 156 years.

This region became an integral part of an established trade route, attracting numerous European shipping companies that would enlist Southern Chinese men as seafarers, who in turn traveled and resettled in the United Kingdom.

While these sailors and subsequent generations of Chinese migrants were not bestowed with citizenship or granted complete rights, many of them, driven by impoverished circumstances and the pursuit of improved livelihoods, established their homes in Britain.

To sustain the burgeoning Chinese communities and cater to the needs of the transient sailors, they resorted to setting up informal noodle shops.

[7] During the mid-1900s, after the Second World War, a significant shift occurred in UK immigration policies, permitting increased migration to address the post-war demand for labor.