Arrowtown Chinese Settlement

Arrowtown Chinese Settlement

Arrowtown Chinese Settlement
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Historic Sites • Historic Walking Areas
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  • foodlover27264
    Auckland, New Zealand342 contributions
    A must-see when in Arrowtown...
    Extremely fascinating place. Very sobering to see how the early Chinese immigrants lived and worked in the early days. In this superbly recreated historic settlement, you get to see what their huts would have looked like, and get a real sense of the harshness of their existence and the shocking back-breaking work they had to endure. We found this settlement considerably more interesting than the Arrowtown township itself, which we found quite disappointing. (But to be fair, at the time the street was being dug up with traffic cones everywhere, so not terribly attractive or 'scenic'!) The Chinese settlement sits in a valley, so it was freezing (the sun didn't seem to reach it!) but still we walked through the entire village. The cold temperatures we experienced actually brought home even more to us the conditions that the Chinese miners had to live through. A great deal of work has been done to restore this village and it is definitely worth a visit.
    Visited May 2021
    Written July 19, 2021
  • Shelley M
    Albany, New Zealand746 contributions
    What a hard life
    A nice wander around on a good day. See how people use to live in some very hard times. They lived pretty tough lives and they restored the dwellings for next generations to get an insight into how people use to live and work. A nice walk through for families and well signposted with parking at the bottom with toilet facilities.
    Visited November 2020
    Written December 6, 2020
  • Bunny59
    Ottawa, Canada214 contributions
    A taste of history
    If you are already in Arrowtown, which I recommend, then you should go and see this place, mainly for the historic information and ruins that are there. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to walk around the few buildings that remain and read the write-ups about it. It’s very interesting to see tangible remains of a people who lived and worked in the gold mines of the area, and learn about what they had to endure. It’s also nicely located along the river walk, which is lovely.
    Visited December 2019
    Traveled with friends
    Written January 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.0
694 reviews
Excellent
259
Very good
315
Average
109
Poor
10
Terrible
1

cpcog
Sydney, Australia1,365 contributions
Dec 2021
Chinese Settlement is better than I expected. You can see and enter some huts and "store" in the site. Tourists can learn more about the history of the Chinese immigrants and how their life was. Somehow it is hard to imagine if we have to live there with such environment.
If you go to Arrowtown, don't miss Chinese settlement! It is worth to spend time to explore the area.
Written January 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Silverthreads101
New Zealand9 contributions
Jun 2023 • Family
Had not been here for many years and thought grandson (7 years old) would enjoy it. He loved it and when followed by a trip to the Lakes museum he got a better appreciation of the life and work of the Chinese of Arrowtown. Great education for us all as he read out the information signs to us as well. We were there for almost an jour exploring. It's great that it is free too!
Written July 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ken H
Ipswich, UK1,058 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
Well worth taking a wander around the old settlement if you're in Arrowtown. Information boards are very well done and give context to the buildings and their occupants. Free to visit and very close to town centre. Highly recommended.
Written February 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Amanda C
Gold Coast, Australia1,662 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
An interesting look into the history of the area and a sad take on the racism rife at the time.
These brave souls headed out from all they knew and loved in China to make their fortunes, with many never returning home.
Take the time to read the boards and really enjoy the recreation of Arrowtown’s gold rush era.
A lovely wander through a beautiful part of New Zealand
Written July 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael K
London, UK507 contributions
Oct 2022
For me, the Chinese Settlement proved to be more interesting than the town itself. The Settlement arose in the 1860s as Chinese workers were imported to work the gold mines and came because they could earn money here to send home. When work started, there was plenty to mine. An open-air route (free) tells their story via info boards. These are a good example of clarity and story-telling that the Lakes District museum would do well to learn from. Most of their huts are gone; although the Gold Rush was short-lived, some of them stayed on into old age. Three or four are preserved or restored and give an idea of how migrant workers in those days lived.
Written November 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BelC0001
Sydney, Australia573 contributions
Dec 2022
Well worth visiting just for this historic site. I'd no idea Arrowtown was a gold mining town, let alone the history of the miners from the Canton province of China (mirroring the gold rush in Australia at the same time).
The tourist information centre in the main street of Arrowtown has more information on this site (it is static, whilst supplied with informative boards outside most of the buildings, lacks for human tour guides or docents).
Written December 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MissTinkerbelle
Christchurch, New Zealand171 contributions
May 2022
Was really sad to see how the Chinese miners had to live and how cold they must have been all of the time. The history boards were great and informative. It inspired us to visit the Queenstown cemetery and pay our respects at the Chinese section
Written May 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Laurel M
Calgary, Canada805 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
After wandering up and down Buckingham Street we headed over through the parking lot to the Historic Chinese Settlement. Lots of signage along the path and you can peek into the few remaining buildings. So tiny. Hard to imagine the life the Chinese men led during the gold rush of the 1860’s. We returned to the parking lot on Tobin’s Track along the Arrow River. So worthwhile to view the settlement and learn more about New Zealand’s gold mining past.
Written February 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

zavalaphilam
Danao City, Philippines127 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
Quick stop part of a larger tour. Had lunch in the park and toured the Cinese settlement. Give a good history of the Chinese influence in the gold rush era of the area. Well worth the stop if you are in the area.
Written March 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Karolina
Ireland87 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Very informative interesting walk. You can chose to also do few different walks to suit different fitness levels. The restored remains of the village settlement were full of history and gave us a feel of what it looked like back in the day. I'd recommend to do this walk when in Arrowtown
Written January 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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