Chinese people in Lithuania

Chinese people in Lithuania

Total population
Unknown. At least 500[1]
Regions with significant populations
Vilnius, very small communities can be found even in smaller cities
Languages
Mandarin and other Chinese languages
Related ethnic groups
Han Chinese

Chinese people (Lithuanian: kinai) in Lithuania form a very small part of the Overseas Chinese community. According to estimates by the Chinese ambassador to Lithuania Mingtao Tong, the Chinese in Lithuania number as few as 500, although it is believed that the actual number is higher.

Chinese are among the most recent immigrants to Lithuania, the vast majority of them arriving some years after its independence, and particularly from 2004 on, when Lithuania joined the European Union. There is a small Chinese community living in Vilnius, as well as some small communities exists in other big cities in Lithuania, such as Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. There was a discussion about the establishment of Chinatown in Algirdas street in Vilnius, but it has been rejected recently due to the dwindling of Chinese immigrants as a result of economical crisis.^[2]

The most typical and indeed most visible occupation of the Lithuanian Chinese is the management of Chinese restaurants and other significant enterprises, though they are also known as shopkeepers and factory workers on Chinese companies.

The Chinese are not among 9 biggest ethnic minorities in Lithuania, though their community is the biggest Asian community in Lithuania, the second being Vietnamese.

See also

• Immigration to Lithuania
• Chinese-Lithuanian relations

References

1. ^ Žukovskis, Andrejus. "Kinijos ambasadorius: Lietuvoje viso labo gyvena apie 500 kinų" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/kinijos-ambasadorius-lietuvoje-viso-labo-gyvena-apie-500-kinu.d?id=26849207. Retrieved 2011-06-06. 
2. ^ [1]