Chinese Departing Croatia

It seems that the current economic situation in Croatia has also had its effect on the nations Chinese community. The number to depart Croatian shores is continuing to grow, and even the amount of Chinese restaurants in the nation’s capital have been cut in half, writes poslovni dnevnik.

“They are leaving Croatia by the day. Some are returning to China, some are moving on further, to the Czech Republic, Poland, and even America. There are no more around, our friends are leaving, we don’t have anybody to mix with anymore,” said Wenzi Chen, owner of the Chinese restaurant Mr Chen, who has been in Zagreb for close to 20 years.

For now the Chen’s have no plans on returning to China or moving on like their compatriots in Croatia.

“We are from a medium-sized city by China standards, there is “just” seven million people, that is why Zagreb suits us. Zagreb is small and peaceful.”

According to the Chen’s the number of Chinese restaurants in Zagreb has nearly halved. There used to be 17, now there are 10. The latest cenus statistics revealed that officially there are now 492 Chinese living in Croatia, most of whom live in the capital.