Armenians were first mentioned in China during the 2nd century as merchants exporting silk and other goods. Small Armenian communities were established after the first Mongol invasion (at the beginning of the 13th century) when a part of the thousands of captive Armenians was settled in the northern regions of China. Later they settled in coastal cities, especially in Canton (present-day Guangzhou), where they built a church in 1307.
 
The first Armenian communities were formed over time. There were 30 families living in Canton in the middle of the 17th century. In the 18th century, there were small Armenian commercial houses in Shanghai. At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a new “flow” of Armenians from India and its bordering countries. The city of Harbin was densely populated with Armenians where the number of Armenians in the 1930s was 500. In Harbin, there were also different Armenian institutions: a church, the Patriotic Union “Artsiv”, The Union of Armenian Women, and Armenian Youth Club.
 
Armenians who settled in China were mostly merchants, physicians, engineers, lawyers, and craftsmen.  In the 17th-18th centuries, Armenian merchants played a significant role in Chinese commerce, had rights equal to the ones of English people, owned ships, and factories (in Canton). Armenian physicians had a prominent reputation; Stepan Mughdesyan supervised the healthcare affairs of Harbin. Hovhannes Ghazaryan, who lived in Canton and was a Chinese teacher, translated the Bible from English into Chinese, which is considered the first and best Chinese translation of the Bible.

Paul Chater (Catchick Astwachatooryan, who in 1902 was awarded the title “Sir” by the government of Hong Kong) was a well-known Armenian benefactor, who supervised the Justice of Peace court. Paul Chater presented projects and provided resources for the construction of the port of Hong Kong, the local university, and multiple other buildings. His marble palace was turned into a museum, and several streets have been named after him. 

As a result of the Armenian Genocide, many Armenians migrated to China, in order to move to the United States from there, but many eventually stayed in the country. The Armenians, who were still in the country after the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, left China and went to Australia, US, Philippines.

According to data from various sources, nowadays the number of Armenians in China, concentrated mostly in Beijing and Hong Kong is around 800-1000. The Armenian community is united by the social structure called “ChinaHay.” Armenians are involved in different types of jobs. They are mostly lawyers, financiers, and businessmen. There are also students who came from Armenia, some of whom, stay and work in China after graduation.

In 2006 Mihran Papazyan, the French-Armenian living in Shenzhen created the Chinahay internet social platform (http://www.chinahay.com), which helped gather the Armenian community. 

2013 was an important year for the final formulation of the community. With the supervision of Henry Arslanyan, Armenians from Armenian-populated cities founded the Executive Body of the community, which represents the interests of Armenians living in different cities.

In 2013, the Armenian cultural center named after Jack and Julia Maqsyans was established in Hong Kong. To raise the level of importance and organize the activities of the community, an organization named “Armenian community of Hong Kong and China” was formed in Hong Kong in 2014.          

In 2014, with the assistance of the Ministry of Education of China, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) started teaching Armenian.

In December of 2015, the first center of Armenian studies was opened in the University of Foreign Languages in Dalian.

In 2014 the Armenian student union was created in China.