Diversity in Cumbria

Chinese myth of flood and creation

As the January 2005 flood waters receded in Carlisle, one woman from the Chinese community found hope. Like the little girl in the Chinese myth of Flood and Creation, who was saved from the waters by a large gourd, Kim Li decided to view the devastation as an opportunity.

Kim, 50, from Hong Kong, has lived in Cumbria for 20 years. She’s spent much of that time working in a takeaway with her husband. In fact, Kim has spent a large part of her life in takeaways, saving up to give either her siblings or her children a better life.

“I realised it was time for me to live life for myself now. Most Chinese women here stay at home or work in takeaways. I wanted to get out and do something.” she says. 

A chance meeting

By chance she met another woman of Hong Kong origin at a local market. Winnie Luk, 45 was educated - a teacher by profession. She’s ambitious, knowledgeable and something of a pioneer. The two women realised they were after the same thing – self-fulfilment.

Their passion for English life and Chinese culture is a heady mix in their new journey. They’ve already opened a Chinese restaurant, a Chinese grocery store, and a warehouse. They’re now planning to build a Chinese Cultural Centre in the heart of Carlisle, bringing performance artistes from mainland China.

Married to an Englishman, Winnie says Cumbrians know very little about Chinese culture. “Think Chinese, think takeaways. That’s all.”, she laughs.

They are hoping to change all that.

Video transcript

W : How long have you been in England ?

K : I’ve been here for around thirty-five years.

W : How did you come here ?

Winnie Luk and Kim Li

K : We were very poor in Hong Kong. My father came over to England to escape the poverty. We followed him.

W : What did you dad do here ?

K : He worked in a kitchen like almost every other Chinese man at a take-away in Newcastle. My mother never left our house. I was the oldest in the family, so I had to help look after my brothers and sisters. But I had no education. So I worked with my father at the counter, helped him do everything. We were in Newcastle for about twenty years.

W : And why did you come to Carlisle ?

K : I followed another man, my husband who lived here in Carlisle. He also works in a take-away.

W : You have a Chinese grocery shop and a restaurant here. Why take so much trouble ?

K: I don't want to spend the rest of my like at home near a cooker. I want to widen my world. My business allows me to meet people, to know them, to make friends. It's not about making money. It's about opening up my world.

W: What do you think about the British?

L: I think they are fair. They have an understanding of human rights. They are friendly with other people. I can manage a basic conversation with English customers. Carlisle is now home to me. I like it here.

W: I had a very hard life in the past; but I've decided I don't want to be unhappy anymore, come what may. The last ten years have been good. I want to and will be happy here.