 She said that 1% of the population of suburban St. Louis was ethnic Chinese and that the "great majority" of the ethnic Chinese in the area lived in the suburbs, particularly those west and south of St. Louis.As of 2004, the St. Louis area had more than 300 Chinese restaurants.During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, St. Louis' Chinese population provided 60% of the city's laundry services.