CHINESE DISTRICT

In the northern section of the city, marked by a gate, this is the most picturesque district of Port Louis, even if more and more recent constructions are replacing the dilapidated old houses. Impervious to the hurried traveller, the area holds many treasures for those who take the time to push open the doors of the old wooden stalls overrun with a motley bric-a-brac of unlikely objects and accessories. A nerve center of Chinese immigration to Port Louis in the ^18th century, the district is home to pagodas, traditional restaurants, mah-jong houses and stores that have been in place for decades, their weathered facades revealing their past colors to camera lenses. Some of these tiny stores are famous, such as Chu Fung Leung Biscuit Lady, a major supplier of Chinese cakes to the entire capital. Marie Jo's is no less typical, offering a wide variety of sauces, spices, grains... Promoted by tourist companies such as Taste Buddies and My Moris, which organize cultural and culinary tours, China Town is particularly lively during the Moon Festival, the Chinese Culinary Festival and Chinese New Year. The latter is a public holiday in Mauritius, with parades, dragon dances, acrobatics, calligraphy workshops, etc., amid the clatter of firecrackers and the dominant hues of red. It's a chance to take part in the folklore of local life.