According to estimates by members of the community, the Chinese in Bulgaria number around 5,000,[1] although Bulgarian researchers put the figure at around 10,000.
[1] Most of the Chinese were urban dwellers in China, a large number coming from the provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, with fewer from Sichuan, Shandong, Jilin, Beijing and Hong Kong.
The most typical and indeed most visible occupation of the Bulgarian Chinese is the management of Chinese restaurants, although they are also known as shopkeepers (with a permanent presence in Sofia's large and frequented bazaar Iliyantsi), engaging in both retail and wholesale trade.
Among the main factors attracting Chinese to Bulgaria is the lower competition enabling more economic opportunities for the immigrants, the availability of more personal space and the lack of a one-child policy.
The Chinese in Bulgaria come from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds; the majority are atheist, but there are also Buddhists, Confucians, Taoists, Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.