Chinatowns in Asia are widespread with large concentrations of overseas Chinese in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and ethnic Chinese whose ancestors came from southern China — particularly the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan — and settled in countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea centuries ago — starting as early as the Tang dynasty, but mostly notably in the 17th–19th centuries (during the reign of the Qing dynasty), and well into the 20th century.

In the Taimani area of the capital Kabul, there is an office building named China Town, with spaces for Chinese traders and merchants, as well as a small market.

[citation needed] In the late 19th century, during the reign of Luong Preah Norodom, a plot of land along the riverside, north of the royal palace (Psar Chas) in Phnom Penh, was gifted to the Chinese immigrants.

[citation needed] Phnom Penh Chinatown is known for its Chinese cuisine, including grilled squids, tea eggs, lamina mee, and stir fry.

[citation needed] Dili, the capital of East Timor, has a Chinatown business area on Hudilaran Street.

Many Hakkas live in a community known as Tangra, which used to be dominated by leather tanneries (the Hindu majority will not touch cattle) and Chinese restaurants.

[5] The population decline has been attributed to increased pollution regulations on tanneries and the immigration of younger generations to countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States for better economic opportunities.

However, it has diminished in population as many of its Indian-born Chinese ethnic residents were denied Indian passports, a backlash from the 1962 Indo-China war.

[citation needed] In Indonesia, many Chinese reside within the Major cities and towns of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo and The Moluccas.

In Java, especially in Jakarta, Chinese people reside in the northern, central and the western part of the province, such as Glodok, Mangga Dua, Pinangsia, Kelapa Gading, Grogol, Pantai Indah Kapuk, and Pluit.

The term Chinatown is rarely used to refer to such places locally except for tourism purposes — particularly about Petaling Street, the center of Kuala Lumpur's Chinese business district and is predominantly Cantonese-speaking.

[7] Other urban areas with a high proportion of Chinese people in the city center include Kuching (90%),[8] Ipoh (82%),[9] Kota Kinabalu (78%),[10] and Malacca (62%).

[11] In the East Coast region of Malaysia, the city of Kuala Terengganu has an old Chinese settlement known as Kampung Cina.

This area, located at the river mouth of Terengganu River that empties into the South China Sea, is one of Southeast Asia's early Chinese settlements (with many of the current buildings dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s) and contains stately ancestral homes, temples, townhouses, and businesses.

Binondo is the oldest Chinatown in the world, having been established in 1594,[18] when the Spanish colonial government of the Philippine islands restricted the residence of Chinese who had converted to Christianity to this area.

[citation needed] During the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, bitterness against Chinese Filipinos grew, starting in 1972.

Neo Chinatown sought to replicate the vibrant night market scene found on the streets of Hong Kong and Taipei.

'ox cart water') in Chinese, and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station that serves the area is known by both names.

[citation needed] Chinatown is not exclusively Chinese; the Masjid Jamae and the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple can also be found off the main street.

[citation needed] Due to institutionalized anti-Chinese discrimination during the Park Chung Hee administration and lack of economic opportunities, many ethnic Chinese left South Korea during the 1960s and 1970s for Taiwan or the United States.

][citation needed] There is a Chinese community in northern Thailand, in a town called Mae Salong, near Myanmar.

[citation needed] In 2018, Emirati-based developer Emaar announced a project to build the Middle East's largest Chinatown in Dubai Creek Harbour.

They pioneered many settlements in the south of the country, including what was then referred to as Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

[citation needed] Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown is the Chợ Lớn ("Big Market") district, which has been a stronghold for the Chinese-Vietnamese community since the late 1770s when many Cantonese and Teochew Chinese arrived.

The Cholon area was the bastion of ethnic Chinese free enterprise, until the victorious communist government confiscated private property after the Vietnam War's conclusion in 1975.

As a result, many overseas Chinese-Vietnamese communities were founded in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States.