Usera, Madrid’s Chinatown
Usera, the district with the largest concentration of the Chinese community in Spain, is all the rage. Its shops, restaurants and festivities bring colour to this area to the south of Matadero Madrid and Madrid Río which also stands out for its intense cultural life, especially in relation to modern art and such interesting spaces as Lineal del Manzanares Park, Caja Mágica (venue for the Mutua Madrid Open) or the Plaza Río 2 Shopping Centre. Discover them!
This district (delimited by Praga Bridge, Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza, Plaza de Fernández Ladreda - known as Plaza Elíptica since 2017- and the national road 401 -Madrid/Ciudad Real-) is made up of six neighbourhoods (Orcasitas, Orcasur, San Fermín, Almendrales, Moscardó, Zofío and Pradolongo) and is one of the most up and coming areas of Madrid in recent years, mainly thanks to the boost received by its extensive Chinese community, whose shops, restaurants and festivities bring a special colour to the district.
Chinese New Year
Each year, Usera becomes the epicentre of the activities organised to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese New Year (end of January/ beginning of February). This festivity has an extensive programme of cultural events for all tastes and ages which is usually organised by the Department for Culture, Tourism and Sport and Usera District Council, with the collaboration of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese associations in Usera, artistic groups, neighbourhood associations, Casa Asia and the Confucio Institute in Madrid.
The scheduled activities include traditional proposals that enable the Chinese culture to be discovered in depth and the exhibition of ancient martial arts or the parade of gigantic dragons and lions. These events are joined by dance, film, gastronomy, music, sports, literature or talks that reveal the vitality of the Chinese community in Madrid.
Two of the events that attract the most visitors are the spectacular Light Festival and the Chinese New Year Multi-cultural Parade which goes through the streets of Usera in an animated parade with the traditional gigantic dragons, lions and lamps.
The Light Festival is usually held in Pradolongo Park, the green lung of the Usera District and one of the most emblematic green areas of Madrid, due to its morphology and variety of uses and its extension spanning almost 60 hectares. It has a large central area which is home to a small temple and a large lake. To the north of the lake, there is a Botanical Garden which dates back to 1979 and has informative signs and botanical texts with the description of the main plant species.
The Best Chinese Food
Some of its restaurants enable the true and spectacular traditional Chinese food to be discovered. In addition to its great culinary tradition, the regional variety is extensive, serving some of the best varieties, ranging from Cantonese cuisine to Sichuan, as well as Yunnan or Shanghai.
The Royal Cantonés (Calle Olvido, 92) specialised in Cantonese food stands out and is considered by many to be the best Chinese restaurant in Madrid. Since it was opened in 2009, it has more than ten years experience preparing the best Cantonese dishes, serving everything from jellyfish and tendons to duck and lotus roots, and rounding off with Dim Sums.
Hong Kong 70 in Chinatown in Calle Nicolás Sánchez, 11 serves the most traditional dishes from Cantonese cuisine. It has expert Cantonese chefs and its dim sums are prepared daily by maestros. Its menu is extensive and includes the star dishes from Hong Kong’s cuisine, such as roasts and duck Hong Kong Style.
At Lao Tou (Nicolás Sánchez, 35) typical Sichuanese and Cantonese food can be savoured. 100% traditional cuisine for people who are looking to sample new textures and flavours. At Picante de Sichuán (Dolores Barranco, 10) you can sample authentic Chinese food, which is perfect for those who love spicy food, with a menu featuring shaokao or double-cooked pork.
Art in Usera
The new generations of creators and artists seek refuge in districts of Madrid like Carabanchel and now it is Usera’s turn. There are more and more spaces and establishments created especially to promote the new artistic tendencies and the work of young creators.
The artist Okuda San Miguel, along with his representation agency, Ink and Movement, are behind the new Factory of Dreams space for the creation, management and dissemination of contemporary art. Located in Calle Carmen Bruguera, 8, this project has arisen with the idea of proposing a new relationship model between creators, industry and the public. The space has a programme in which exhibitions, dissemination contents and training workshops will be the main features.
There is also a space for co-working in Usera and an Independent Art Centre Espacio Oculto Madrid (Nicolás Usera, 27). It is a meeting point for artists and creative professions, where research production, dissemination and sharing are fostered. This community work centre provides artists and other types of professionals, such as industrial designers or architects, with the necessary physical resources to produce their work.
Habitación Número 34 can be found on Avenida del Cerro de los Ángeles in the district adjacent to Usera, which is a space devoted to art which changes each month depending on the invited artist. It aims to raise awareness of the visual and musical work of young Spanish artists who cannot find a place in conventional cultural centres.
Cultural Initiatives
Since autumn 2022, the neighbourhood has boasted a sculpture of a panda bear donated by the district’s Chinese community. The panda bear is considered to be a national treasure in China, having travelled thousands of kilometres to become a testimony of the friendship and harmony between both populations. The sculpture is carved in marble and stands on a granite base, rising up to a height of one metre and weighing 500 kilograms. It can be visited at the crossroads of Calle de la Pilarica and Calle Julio Merino as testimony of the historic ties between Spain and China.
In 2022, Usera hosted the first edition of its Autumn Festival, raising first-hand awareness of the multi-cultural wealth that oozes out of the district’s streets. This is an opportunity for the residents of Usera and other areas of the city to delve into the culture, art and gastronomy of China and Spanish-speaking countries. In June of the same year, Usera Artists Day 2022 was organised, an initiative backed by Espacio Oculto Madrid, with the support of Usera Municipal Council and the Citrón Project to raise awareness of the work of artists from the district.
As part of the actions to promote Usera as a new tourist highlight in the city, some arches will be built in the Plaza del Hidrógeno and at the crossroads of Calle del Olvido and Calle Dolores Barranco. For their integration in the surrounding area, the Chinese community in Usera has participated in their design, so they will boast allegorical decoration of their culture.
Cultural Centres
The Usera District boasts cultural events for all ages at various centres around the area. Usera Municipal Council’s Exhibition Hall hosts activities all year round and collaborates actively with the Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors, hosting proposals by artists of renowned prestige and quality in the exhibitions held at its artistic space. It also hosts part of the programme for the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The San Fermín Municipal Public Library has a programme of activities for all ages, such as workshops or shows for children. Furthermore, painted murals by Okuda San Miguel are on display inside, depicting the history of the building and how this space has come about in the neighbourhood.
Other cultural spaces in Usera are the Orcasur Cultural Centre or the Meseta de Orcasitas Cultural Centre whose facilities include an exhibition hall, an auditorium, rehearsal rooms and several classrooms and gyms.
Places of Interest
In the area around Doce de Octubre (Usera), there is the Lineal del Manzanares Park. The recovery of the area is one of the most interesting architectural projects from the end of the 1990s, designed by Ricardo Bofill’s architecture studio. The allotments, olive trees and the natural course of the river are the backdrop that embraces the Caja Mágica, the High Performance Tennis Centre, designed by Dominique Perrault. It is a multi-disciplinary space that hosts major sporting events, such as the Mutua Madrid Open, as well as shows and cultural events for business and pleasure.
Located in Madrid Río and in front of Matadero Madrid is the Plaza Río 2 Commercial Centre which is home to more than one hundred stores from national and international firms, as well as a wide selection of restaurants. It has a large terrace offering views over the city and its river that has been transformed.
Furthermore, the Usera district is home to the 12 de Octubre University Hospital (Avenida de Córdoba), one of the largest hospitals in Spain. It is a healthcare centre of national and international prestige, with all of the clinical specialities, cutting edge technology and a human team of almost 7,000 professionals.
Where to Sleep
Visitors wishing to stay in the district or nearby have several options, such as e-Kilibrio: Hotel and Apart-Suites, a modern, comfortable and 100% ecological place just 270 metres away from Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid and 22 minutes from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Another option is Hotel Madrid Río, which boasts all of the facilities for a comfortable and pleasant stay. Just 15 minutes from the centre, it lies on the banks of the River Manzanares, very close to the revamped green area of Madrid Río and the Plaza Río 2 Commercial Centre.
