Barrio Chino

Barrio Chino is Buenos Aires's small but lively Chinatown, tucked into the leafy Belgrano neighbourhood, a concentrated few blocks of Chinese and broader Asian culture that make for a fun, flavourful contrast to the city's European feel. Centred on Arribeños street and marked by a traditional Chinese paifang archway gateway, it's packed with Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai restaurants, supermarkets brimming with Asian ingredients, tea shops, bakeries, and stores selling everything from souvenirs to homewares. It's the place where porteños come for authentic Asian food, bubble tea, and ingredients hard to find elsewhere in the city.

The area is busiest and most colourful at weekends, and comes spectacularly alive for Chinese New Year, when it hosts one of the city's biggest cultural celebrations with dragon dances and crowds. Compact and easy to explore, it's a great spot to eat your way through, browse the shops, and snap a photo at the archway. Free to wander; combine it with a stroll around pleasant Belgrano.

Don't miss

• The traditional paifang archway gateway
• Authentic Chinese and pan-Asian restaurants
• Asian supermarkets, tea shops, and bakeries
• Vibrant Chinese New Year celebrations
• A flavourful contrast in European-feeling Buenos Aires

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Barrio Chino

Cheapest way inBuenos Aires for curious people4.9★ · 89 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$32 per personSee dates →Most bookedBuenos Aires City Private Tour with Local Guide4.9★ · 3,874 travelers~4 hoursFree cancellationFrom$120 per personSee dates →Private & flexibleJoin a Local Family Asado in Buenos Aires with Betty and Marcelo5★ · 846 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$79 per personSee dates →

Good for

How travelers rate it

Know before you go

• It's compact, a few lively blocks around Arribeños street.
• Best for eating, authentic Asian food and bubble tea.
• Busiest and most colourful at weekends.
• Spectacular during Chinese New Year celebrations.

A bit of history

Buenos Aires's Barrio Chino grew from the 1980s–90s as Taiwanese and then mainland Chinese immigrants settled in the Belgrano area. The ornamental paifang archway was added in 2009, and the district became the city's hub of Asian food and culture.