Announcement comes before historic visit of President Xi Jinping.

The Middle East’s largest Chinatown is to be built in Dubai, and it's looking like it's going to be great.

The announcement coincides with the historic visit of President Xi Jinping of China to the UAE. He is due to arrive for a three-day visit today (Thursday July 19).

The 6 sq km mega-development at Dubai Creek Harbour will feature world-renowned brands from China, along with global fashion brands for all kinds of shoppers.

Judging from images released by the developer, the city’s up-and-coming Chinatown looks fresh, modern and upmarket. We can definitely see ourselves walking around in it.

Chairman of Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar said: “The UAE and China share strong bilateral trade and cultural relations, which are bolstered by the presence of over 200,000 Chinese citizens who live in the UAE and the hundreds of thousands of Chinese visitors that the nation welcomes annually.

“The development of the new Chinese retail and lifestyle district at Dubai Creek Harbour highlight our commitment to the country, and our focus on contributing to the strength and success of UAE-China relations.”

While Emaar has not yet revealed when project will be finished, more details will be released in the next few months, so stay tuned.

In light of President Xi Jinping’s visit, Emaar is also launching developments in three new cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – to promote tourism and trading between the UAE and China.

Finally, Dubai will have a Chinatown of its own. We can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Time Out Dubai on Thursday July 19th, 2018 http://bit.ly/MiddleEastsLargestChinatown