Kolkata: The state govt planned to put the city’s historic Chinese neighbourhoods of Tiretta Bazaar and Tangra on the state’s tourism map by developing walking trails and organising heritage walks around their temples, eateries and other landmarks, additional chief secretary of the tourism department Barun Roy said on Saturday.“We plan to have walking trails and conduct heritage walks around the temples and restaurants in the two Chinatowns of Tiretta Bazaar and Tangra. Some people do conduct heritage walks but we want to train people and do it,” said Roy. “Departments, like urban development, will also play a crucial role in boosting the infrastructure of the area.” Roy was speaking at the unveiling of Cheenapara Heritage Gallery at Sei Vui Temple and Voiling Club in Tiretta Bazaar. The gallery, which documents the history and cultural heritage of Kolkata’s Chinese community, brings together items, photographs and documents that offer a glimpse into a community the presence of which in the city spans over two centuries.Cheenapara Heritage Gallery, created by CHA Project and Intach, Calcutta Chapter, with support from Sei Vui Club, The British Academy, NYU Shanghai Boost Fund and Center for Global Asia at NYU Shanghai, focuses particularly on Tiretta Bazaar, the earliest hub of Chinese settlement in Kolkata. The displays trace the locality’s temples, huiguans (native-place associations), schools and workshops, which by the mid-19th century had formed a dense Chinese urban ecosystem. The exhibits, sourced from the city’s Chinese community, include temple seals and talisman woodblocks, historic dentistry and carpentry tools, an abacus, calligraphy sets, mahjong sets, club seals, gongs, joss sticks, candles and lamp stands.Among the visual elements is a mural of Xuanzang, the Chinese monk, scholar and writer who travelled nearly 10,000 perilous miles to India across the Himalayas about 1,400 years ago in search of Buddhist scriptures. “Our efforts at Chinatown revival and its urban regeneration made a beginning with the inauguration of Cheenapara Heritage Gallery by the Chinese consul general, Xu Wei, and Barun Ray. Intach and The Cha Project have joined hands to take the revival project further with the support of architect Sohini Pyne and in association with Proj Tansen Sen of NYU Shanghai who has arranged the financing through the British Academy. We have been working on the project for over 15 years. Now with the state’s positive attitude, we expect to see the project move faster,” said convener of INTACH’s Kolkata chapter, who pointed out that a state boost for the infrastructure would help revamp Chinatown and invite more heritage and history enthusiasts.“The Chinatowns have a vibrant culture but the numbers are dwindling. The youngsters are migrating to other countries and the new generation is not aware of the culture and heritage of their ancestors here. We are in talks with the tourism department to boost tourism and preserve the heritage and the culture,” said Xu Wei, Chinese consul general.The Chinese community began settling in Tiretta Bazaar area in the late 18th century, with shoemakers, dentists, carpenters, eateries and other businesses becoming part of the neighbourhood’s economic and social life.
