Fifty members of Birmingham’s Chinese community aged 75 and over gathered at Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant as part ofan event marking the International Day of Older Persons, to help preserve the history of the city’s Chinese community.
The reminiscence event marks the first stage of a project led by Chinese Community Centre Birmingham (CCC-B), working with Chung Ying and the Midlands Chinese Federation, to collect personal memories, photographs, documents and objects from Birmingham’s Chinese community.
The material gathered will help form an exhibition in the Community Gallery at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from July to September 2027, with ambitions to develop a larger exhibition in 2027/28.
The project follows last weekend’s successful Birmingham Mid-Autumn Festival, which brought thousands of people into Chinatown, and comes as the Midlands Chinese Federation progresses plans for a permanent Birmingham Chinatown Arch.
Together, the projects reflect a wider ambition to celebrate Birmingham’s Chinese culture, preserve its history and create a legacy for future generations.
James Wong, owner of Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant, Patron of CCC-B and founder of the Midlands Chinese Federation, said:
“Looking around the restaurant for this special gathering, each of the 50 people who attended has a story.
“Some came to Birmingham decades ago, worked hard, raised their families and helped create the community we have today. But so much of that history has never been recorded.
“We have photographs sitting in drawers, and stories that have only ever been passed from one generation to another. Now is the time to capture them.
“Last weekend we celebrated our culture at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Today we’re preserving our history and, through ambitions such as the Chinatown Arch, we’re thinking about what we leave for the next generation.
“This isn’t only Chinese history. It’s Birmingham history.”
James’s own family came to Britain from Hong Kong and established Chung Ying in Birmingham’s Chinatown in 1981. His involvement with Birmingham’s Chinese elders began more than 20 years ago, with Chung Ying subsequently hosting regular elders’ lunches.
Organisers now hope other Chinese families across Birmingham will come forward with their own memories, photographs, documents and objects to help build a broader record of the community’s history.
Do you have a story to share?
Share your memories, photographs and family history with the project at brumchineseheritage@gmail.com.