Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands: 100 year celebrations
On Saturday, 9 July, visitors to Dam Square were treated to a unique spectacle as no less than 100 Chinese lions performed a traditional lion dance to celebrate the 100 year jubilee of the arrival of the first Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands.
Celebrating new beginnings
This is the largest lion dance ever to be held in Europe - made possible due to the high density of Chinese lion dance organisations in the Netherlands. In the Chinese community, the lion dance traditionally symbolises happiness and prosperity and is performed to celebrate new beginnings. For example, the opening of a new business, the Chinese New Year or the start of a new era (such as now, with the second century of Chinese people in the Netherlands).
The highly decorative lions conceal two dancers who twist and turn inside the costume to make the lion dance.
A successful dance requires strength, flexibility, perseverance and unity - according to the organisers of the event, all factors required by the Chinese immigrants as they built their new lives in the Netherlands a century ago. Check out the video below for an idea of what went on at the event (with thanks to Peter Eijking):
Procession to the Nieuwmarkt
The event kicked off at 13:00 with speeches by W. K. Yeung (Chairperson of the Stichting 100 Jaar Chinezen in Nederland, 100 Years of Chinese People in the Netherlands Foundation), Chinese Ambassador J. Zhang and Mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan.
The dancing lions then performed on Dam Square before beginning a procession towards the Nieuwmarkt, where additional performances were held throughout the afternoon.
That the celebrations ended at the Nieuwmarkt is of course no accident – it is just a short distance away from where the first Chinese immigrants set foot on Dutch soil 100 years ago - at the Port of Amsterdam.
Honouring earlier generations
The first 26 Chinese immigrants arrived in Amsterdam in 1911, the same year that the last Chinese emperor stepped down. They were recruited as ship workers abroad to be used as a cheap workforce to break dogged strikes amongst ship workers in the Netherlands.
The number of Chinese immigrants steadily grew and what is now known as Chinatown began to develop around the Zeedijk and the Geldersekade. The first Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands was opened on the Binnen Bantammerstraat in the late 1920s, centred in an area still famous for great Chinese restaurants.
Although the descendants of the first Chinese immigrants no longer only work in shipping or the restaurant industry, the event was all about honouring the first Chinese people to settle in Amsterdam 100 years ago. Through their hard work and dedication, they paved the way for future generations who now also enjoy life in Amsterdam.
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