British Chinese (also known as
Chinese British,
Chinese Britons) (
Chinese: , ,
Yingguó Huáqiáo) are people of
Chineseparticularly
Han Chineseancestry who reside in the
United Kingdom, constituting the second or third largest group of
overseas Chinese in Europe apart from the
Chinese diaspora in France and the overseas Chinese community in
Russia. The British Chinese community is thought to be the oldest Chinese community in Western Europe, with the first Chinese having come from the ports of
Tianjin and
Shanghai in the early 19th century to settle in port cities such as
Liverpool. They opened restaurants on the ports.