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The community of Chinese people in Italy has grown rapidly in the past ten years. Official statistics indicate there are at least 320,794 Chinese citizens in Italy, although these figures do not account for illegal immigration, former Chinese citizens who have acquired Italian nationality, or Italian-born people of Chinese descent.
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Demographics
In 2010, an analysis conducted by the CESNUR and the University of Turin on the 4,000-strong Chinese community of Turin showed that at that time, 48% of this community was women and 30%, minors. Most of the Chinese in Italy -- and virtually all of the Turin community -- hail from the southeastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, primarily the city of Wenzhou. The community in Turin is younger than other Chinese settlements in Italy, and for this reason it depends as a branch of the community of Milan. Approximately 70% of the Chinese in Turin work in restaurant activity, and more than 20% work in commercial activity.
Prato, Tuscany has the largest concentration of Chinese people in Italy and all of Europe. It has the second largest population of Chinese people overall in Italy after Milan.
Religion
The study of the CESNUR also surveyed religious affiliation and beliefs of the Chinese in Turin. It found that 31.6% identified as Buddhists, although the analyst concluded that only 13.7% had "a conscious Buddhist identity and practice" while the rest was ascribable to the Chinese folk religion incorporating Buddhist elements.
In total, approximately one quarter of the Chinese community was classified as belonging to the Chinese (folk) religion. The surveyors weren't able to determine a precise Taoist identity; only 1.1% of the surveyed people identified as such, and the analysts preferred to consider Taoism as an "affluent" of the Chinese religion. The survey found that 39.9% of the Chinese had a thoroughly atheist identity, not believing in any god, nor belonging to any religious organisation, nor practicing any religious activity.
The study also analysed the Chinese Christian community, finding it comprised 8% of the total population (of which 3.6% were Catholics, 3.3% Protestants and 1.1% Jehovah's Witnesses). The Christian community was small, but larger than that of the province of origin, especially for the Catholics and the Jehovah's Witnesses, the latter being an illegal religion in China. Protestants were found to be basically nondenominational and largely (70%) women.
Community relations
In 2007, several dozen protesters took to the streets in Milan over alleged discrimination. The northern Italian town of Treviso also ordered Chinese-run businesses to take down their lanterns because they looked "too oriental".
Cities with significant Chinese communities
Based on Demo ISTAT statistics.
Notable people
Wenling Tan Monfardini, table tennis player (1972)