Museum of Science and Industry

As Chinese New Year begins the Chinese community in Greater Manchester will also celebrate 150 years of official records in the city, according to a new exhibition which opens this week at MOSI. The first known records of Chinese people in Manchester date back to 1861, when the census recorded Gin Longfoo, a cobbler in Bolton, and Yip Achew, a servant in the home of a cotton manufacturer in Birch House at Ashton-under-Lyne.

The Manchester Chinese Archive community exhibition, which is led by the Manchester Chinese Centre in partnership with MOSI and Manchester City Council archives, is the first time that recorded stories and archives have been collected on Chinese people in Manchester. It reveals the fascinating and untold story of Manchester's thriving Chinese community.

Census returns, photographs and other documents which chart the waves of immigration from China to Manchester, as well as voice recordings from some of the founding members of the Manchester Chinese community are amongst an exciting range of archives and objects on display in the exhibition.

Charlie Chan who opened one of the earliest restaurants in Chinatown in the 1970s, Anne Law, who started Manchester's first Chinese opera group, and Mr. Zhang, who served in the Red Army, were amongst  people from the Chinese community who were interviewed to piece together 150 years of Chinese history.

Josie Sykes, community exhibition officer at MOSI said: "I'm delighted to be able to showcase the written and oral history of Manchester's Chinese community for the very first time. There are some fascinating accounts of Chinese peoples' first impressions of Manchester and what working life was like in the first part of the 20^th century. It also allows us to see the extent to which the Chinese community has shaped Manchester - most notably in the development of Chinatown."

Jane Speller, Project Leader, of the Manchester Chinese Archive said: "This is a unique project which has helped uncover an important part of Greater Manchester's history. I am indebted to Jenny Wong, Director of the Manchester Chinese Centre for her vision in setting up the archive project and to our volunteers whose hard work made all this possible."

Manchester Chinese Archive, which focuses particularly on the development of trade and business in the community, also shows how Chinese arrivals integrated with local people. Reverend Collier of the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission on Oldham Street, for example, was reported to have given English lessons to Chinese immigrants as early as 1912.

Objects in the exhibition include a costume worn by opera performer Anne Law, letters and books, as well as a traditional Chinese Kitchen and land registry papers from the 1920s and 30s.

The Manchester Chinese Archive is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Manchester Chinese Archive exhibition runs until 16 January 2012. For more information on the Manchester Chinese Archive project please look up www.mchinesecentrearchive.org.uk or call the Manchester Chinese Centre on 0161 275 9885.

For media enquiries please contact: Sarah Roe, MOSI press and publicity officer on Tel: 0161 606 0176, m: 07847 372647

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