Kolkata’s Old Chinatown makes it to the World Monuments Fund watch list for 2022

Kolkata’s old Chinatown, also known as Tiretta Bazaar, has now been included in the World Monuments Fund (WMF) watchlist for 2022. The heritage destination is one of the 25 destinations selected from around the world, whose preservation is of urgent importance.
The Old Chinatown is located near Lalbazar in Central Kolkata, and was once home to around 20000 ethic Chinese Indian nationals. It is the first Chinatown in India, and the city is the only place where a Chinatown still exists. The Hakka Chinese people who settled here in the city are also credited with the Kolkata style Chinese food, which has spread across the country today, and is known as Indian-Chinese cuisine worldwide.

This is the second time an iconic old place in the city has been included in the WMF list. In 2005, Dalhousie Square was the first place to have been included in the list. The old Chinatown became an ethnic Chinese neighbourhood after Chinese sailors settled in the area around the mid-18th century. It soon took on the style, traditions of China, with Chinese shops and establishments, notably restaurants coming up in the area.
With his place included in the 2022 watchlist, Tiretta Bazaar and its Chinese community will get the much needed recognition as a place and people of cultural importance. It is one of the most beautiful aspects of Kolkata, which was then Calcutta, as so many different cultures came to settle down in the city during the days of Raj.


The World Monuments Fund’s watch list for this year focuses on 25 heritage sites of extraordinary significance, facing pressing challenges. The WMF’s partnership with the local communities of such places will help to make a difference.

The Tiretta Bazaar was named after Edward Tiretta, an Italian immigrant from Venice.