1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
IranIsrael-Hamas warUkraine
History

France: The Chinese Cemetery

April 9, 2014

Tens of thousands of Chinese laborers supported Allied forces in World War One. A cemetery in northern France is a memorial to their fates.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Bek9

The French and British armies recruited millions during World War One. Among those recruits were around 140 thousand Chinese. They were laborers who helped build railway lines or worked in ports and munitions factories in France and Belgium. Conditions were miserable and many died. The largest Chinese cemetery has 841 graves. It is located in Noyelles-sur-Mer, not far from Abbeville. Once a year, Chinese from all over Paris visit the site.