Coming into being in 1883, China Town was established in Incheon as Incheon Port opened and Chinese immigrants started flocked in for work. Starting as region of high poverty region, the potential of this Chinese residential area had been discovered to be developed into a tourist spot, which makes what we call China Town today. Now, China Town makes every top list of must-visit in Incheon and receives local and international visitors every day.
We went visit China Town on the first day of 2021 with the expectation there would be many stores closing due to the public holiday and current coronavirus situation. However, to our surprise, despite falling on the New Year day, most stores remained open and many visitors seemed to take the opportunity of holiday to visit Incheon China Town.
The Easiest Way to Get to China Town
China Town is located at the right opposite road of Incheon Subway station. Getting out from the exit 3, you know you are on the right way when you see the magnificent Chinese-style gate right in front. What awaits you in the town is authentically designed buildings and stores.
Foods You Could Expect in China Town
The most abundant stores are Chinese restaurants which do not only sell original Korean style Chinese foods like Jjajang-myeon and Jjampong, also you can find other varieties of unique Chinese food like White Jjajang-myeon, Saenggyeon-bo and many more. There are especially many large-size Chinese restaurants which could accommodate more than 100 people at one time and serve authentic Chinese course meals.
We visited a Chinese restaurant called โLucky Chinaโ. They had been broadcasted on Running Man, a famous Korean TV show, once. We ordered a original black Jjajang, white Jjajang, a regular Jjampong and a prawn crab Jjampong. Even the original black Jjajang surprised me with its fresh but distinguished taste. Also, the white Jjajang that was rare to see had its unique taste that satisfied my tongue. Nonetheless, both Jjampong has very well-cooked and rich broth that further increased our appetite.
After having lunch, we started looking for some after-meal desserts. We noticed that there were quite many street stalls selling different kinds of Chinese street food. There were dumplings and pastries. A stall selling red bean pastry which has a very long queue caught our attention and we decided to have a try. We got four three different flavours: red bean, green tea, and dark chocolate. There were also cream cheese and mango flavours. Absolutely deserving the long waits, the taste of the pastry were exquisitely good and the fillings overflowed!
Besides, we visited a Chinese bakery called Dam. It has many types of Chinese pastry, particularly milk biscuits, pineapple pastry, and many flavours of mooncake. I got myself a milk-flavoured mooncake and some milk biscuits as souvenirs to my friends!
Sightseeing in China Twon
We also took a walk at the town. We enjoyed the sightseeing very much. It was fun to see all the buildings with traditional Chinese features and the sculptures at the temple at the end of the stairs. Also, there was a mural street which depicts the story of the Three Kingdoms and the heroes of the time. Jjajangmyeon Museum which tells the story about how the Chinese labors came to the idea of making soy paste sauce Jjajang-myeon is also one of the attractions in China Town. The admission is only 1000 won per adult. The information in English is not very much but it is definitely not a bad idea to stop by to get some info about Jjajangmyeon here!
My Thoughts
Have you been to China Town in Incheon. Why not spend your weekend here visiting this unique foreign town in a foreign country? I love this place and will definitely have my second visit soon!
