Chinese abroad who came to Kobe from Qing with which Japan had not signed a treaty at that time, were not allowed to live in The Former Foreign Settlement, settling on its west side, building Chinatowns called Nanjing-machi Town (Kobe).
当時、条約の未締結国であった清国から神戸に渡ってきた華僑は、居留地には住むことができず、その西側に多く住み着き、南京町(神戸)といった中華街を築いていった。