The City of Sydney has pledged $5 million to upgrade Dixon Street in Chinatown. The council consulted with 1150 local residents and businesses on the plan to revitalise the precinct’s main thoroughfare, which was hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

Since 2020, Chinatown has suffered from a loss of international visitors and students, and a massive decrease in foot traffic. In December last year it was reported that one in four shopfronts in the area was vacant.

Longstanding restaurants like Marigold and Golden Century closed during the pandemic, as did scores of smaller businesses. But Kevin Cheng, co-founder of Soul of Chinatown, a group advocating for the survival of the precinct, says the area was struggling even before the pandemic.

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“Chinatown, in particular Dixon Street, has been in steady decline for many years – even before Covid-19,” Cheng tells Broadsheet. “There’s been a lack of public and private investment in the area, and the number of vacant shops [and] restaurants has increased. The streetscape is tired and in need of an upgrade.”

The revitalisation will include restoration of the street’s iconic gates, as well as installation of new seating and creative lighting, and an upgrade of services to improve events. In the long term, the city hopes to increase al fresco dining and events on the street, extend trading hours for local businesses and install more public art.

Cheng says public art will help bring colour and life to the precinct, and “tap into the vibrant and thriving Asian-Australian creative community”. In the future, Soul of Chinatown hopes to see changes that make the area feel more like recognisable Chinatowns around the world, including London, San Francisco and New York. These might include the installation of lanterns and more public art. The group also hopes future upgrades go beyond Dixon Street.

Soul of Chinatown has played an important role in bringing awareness of the precinct’s plight to local government. It was recently awarded one of the City of Sydney’s “precinct activation grants” to help it co-host Neon Playground, a five-week festival to enliven Chinatown with public art, lights, live music, and food and drink specials by local businesses.

“We have shown that the community is able to activate and reinvigorate Chinatown, and that we have the community behind us,” says Cheng. “Chinatown is an iconic part of Sydney and the largest Chinatown in Australia – it is a place of survival and community for Chinese Australians and has been since the 19th century. We should honour the history and significance of Chinatown but also invest in one of Sydney’s most popular tourist attractions.”

The design process for the upgrades will begin in early 2023.