We went to a small display about the Chinese Community in Limehouse which is in preparation for a larger display due to be held in St. Anne’s, Limehouse, opening on March 20th. (Fridays and Saturdays 10-4).

Nearly the first identifiable Chinese immigrant was Tan-Che-Qua, an artist who made a living making small ceramic stauettes before returning to China in March 1771.

In the 1950s there was apparently still a substantial Chinese community in Limehouse, based round the Chinese laundries and the restaurants, including Good Friends which opened in 1962 and was in the Good Food Guide and – the one we liked – the Peking, which was like entering old Shanghai.

I was particularly pleased to see a photograph of The Peking which was on West India Dock Road till the late 1980s when it was demolished with the advance of Canary Wharf:-

The curator of the exhibition wants to make contact with anyone who has information or memories of Chinese Limehouse.