Like the movement of the light rail, businesses arrive at their destination and open their doors to the public, before eventually closing their doors and moving on to the next stage of their journey. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has led to the closure of many notable, legacy businesses in the area. With every closure, a new business will take its place but will they uphold Chinatown’s historical authenticity or change the meaning behind Chinatown’s name?

Introduction

Fig 1. Paifang gate to Chinatown. 2022

Originally a timber storage yard, Dixon Street in Chinatown was the centre of Chinese congregation following the relocation of large wholesale fruit and vegetable markets in the 1900s (Kembrey, 2015). The area developed into a hub of Chinese markets, restaurants and housing, establishing itself as a precinct for Chinese culture and experiences. However, the last few years have presented various challenges to businesses in Chinatown which have led to the permanent closure of many.

Among the businesses that closed were highly recognisable and respected names that had operated in the area for decades. A reminder that the tenure of even the longest serving, most established brands will come to an end.

Fig 2. Buildings along Dixon and Sussex Street that are on lease. The image bottom right is a remaining section of Sydney's past monorail system which was removed in 2013.

Within the last few years, the Covid-19 pandemic, developments in Darling Square and the construction of the light rail have been the most prominent challenges to businesses in Chinatown. Modern developments in Darling Square have made it a direct competitor for dining and entertainment. The installation of the light caused four years of disturbances, but the resulting benefits to the area were just beginning to take shape before the pandemic struck.

The district's economic activity was negatively impacted by the inconsistent lockdown and isolation rules, resulting in it being popular only on weekends and quiet during weekdays. Along with growing rent prices, many businesses were not financially sustainable and were forced to close down.

"On the worst days, there were only 5 to

10 customers. How miserable is this."

Mrs Lau (SBS, 2020)

According to an article by SBS Cantonese (Yu and Lin, 2020), of the 186 shops on Dixon Street, only 74 remained open during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notable Closures

Photos of (from left to right) BBQ King, Marigold and Golden Century Seafood Restaurant before their closures. Image credits in references.

Fig 3. Screenshots of public media statements released by (from left to right) Marigold, BBQ King and Golden Century that announced their closures.

Fig 4. Photo of Dixon Street's newly installed lighting, taken by Katherine Griffiths, courtesy of City of Sydney

To help revitalise the area, the City of Sydney has pledged $5 million to upgrade Dixon Street in Chinatown (Trigg, 2022). The influx of investment was directed towards the restoration of iconic features, such as the gates, as well as the installation of new seating areas and lighting to enhance the visual appeal of the area. The revitalization aims to build long-term interest in the precinct and is expected to attract new businesses to replace the ones that have closed down however, how will these new stores affect the cultural identity and character of Chinatown?

DESIGN PROCESS

Fig 4. Photo of Dixon Street's newly installed lighting, taken by Katherine Griffiths, courtesy of City of Sydney

Fig 5. Chinatown photos. 2022

After some preliminary secondary research on Chinatown and potential narratives for my graphic intervention, I visited the site and took many photos. Photos were taken of different textures, symbols and potential physical locations for the graphic intervention.

Visual Map

During my initial visit to the site, a recurring observation was the abundance of buildings available for lease and traces of the past. Despite this being a map of a relatively limited sample of the area, the overwhelming number of permanently closed stores was extremely prominent. It was apparent that China was grappling with recent challenges, leaving numerous stores financially incapable of making a recovery.

Past vs Present

Fig 6. Chinatown light rail station. 2022

Whilst looking for potential spaces for my graphic intervention, I saw the light rail as a potential option that may be interesting because of its dynamic nature. The service travels from Townhall, through Chinatown and into Haymarket. Like buses, light rail vehicles are capable of exhibiting graphics on their surface and I saw their inherent movement as an opportunity to drive a particular design narrative.

Design Narrative

Using my secondary research and primary observations, I proposed a narrative for my graphic intervention surrounding the idea that 'nothing lasts forever.' It was evident that Chinatown was struggling financially due to recent challenges. It was no longer a hub exclusively for Chinese immigrants and communities and many of its iconic restaurants, despite their support and longevity, could not recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

My graphic system will aim to draw parallels between the movement of light rails and the lifecycle of businesses. Similar to light rails, businesses arrive at their location and open their doors to the public before eventually closing them and moving on. With every closure a new business will take its place and the graphic intervention will aim to question how they will contribute to and influence Chinatown's legacy.

GRAPHIC INTERVENTION

For this particular project, I wanted to test my technical ability in graphics and try illustrating. Previously, I had exclusively stuck to Illustrator and simple shapes and forms as my main style of graphics as I never really considered myself a very artistic person. I knew I couldn't draw what I had in mind from scratch, so I gathered as many photo references as I could and started drawing and iterating from there.

Every building seen within the light rail graphic intervention is a graphic representation of a real business affected by the recent challenges. The most notable examples are Marigold, Golden Century and BBQ King, all of which had been in service for around 40 years before they were forced to close due to financial challenges the Covid-19 pandemic presented. The line of text that runs through the graphic intervention was curated from the official statements from these businesses that announced their closure.

Graphic intervention at light rail stations

CONCLUSION

As previously mentioned, prior to this project, I didn’t really consider myself much of an illustrator, so for this task, I specifically wanted to challenge myself and try hand-drawing my graphics. Despite it being a different technique, I've realised I do have a style that I always resort to, which is a heavy emphasis on clean, simple lines and shapes. Knowing this, I've come to embrace it and this project was a very helpful one for identifying my graphic style as a designer.

This project also highlighted my interest in more dynamic works and I think the animations that I made alongside my graphics were a really effective way to bring the whole project to life and communicate different ideas in practice. I discovered a lot about my practice as a designer from this project and I continue to apply my learnings from it in future projects.

rEFERENCES

Yu W and Lin Y, (2020), "Chinatown or 'ghost town'? How Sydney's iconic district is struggling due to COVID-19," SBS, accessed May 2022 <https://www.sbs.com.au/language/chinese/en/article/chinatown-or-ghost-town-how-sydneys-iconic-district-is-struggling-due-to-covid-19/hynrlaig4>

Trigg C, (2022), "Chinatown’s Dixon Street Is Getting a $5 Million Upgrade," Broadstreet, accessed May 2023 <https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/city-file/article/chinatowns-dixon-street-getting-5-million-upgrade>

IMAGES

Pickles E, (2019), "The window display at the new Liverpool Street premises of BBQ King," Good Food, retrieved from <https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/bbq-king-is-back-sydney-dining-institution-returns-with-a-2016-update-17711/>

Griffiths K, (2022), "Chinatown’s Dixon Street Is Getting a $5 Million Upgrade," Broadstreet, retrieved from <https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/city-file/article/chinatowns-dixon-street-getting-5-million-upgrade>

Nine News, (2021), "Popular Sydney restaurant serves its last yum cha," Nine News, retrieved from <https://www.9news.com.au/national/marigold-chinese-restaurant-sydney-closed-coronavirus/87c3f466-f528-4b27-8539-2de20163e87b>

TripAdvisor, (2021), "The Golden Century Seafood Restaurant on Sussex Street has gone into administration," ABC News, retrieved from <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-20/sydney-news-iconic-restaurant-golden-century-closes/100392510>

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