Beginning in 1857, hundreds of thousands of indentured Chinese were brought to Cuba under eight-year contracts to work on sugarcane plantations. They were all men. Thousands more immigrated from the United States. After their contracts, many returned home while others began living in the Chinese community called Barrio Chino de La Habana. When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, most of the Chinese fled. However, the second and third generations Chinese Cubans who resulted from inter-racial marriages remained behind. This paifang is the entrance to Chinatown in Havana. Once thriving and one of the largest in Latin America, it is now only a couple of blocks of mostly restaurants.
