Chinatown - New York City

Website: http://www.explorechinatown.com

This is the largest immigrant enclave in the United States, and it is still growing. The name 'Chinatown' is a bit misleading as immigrants from a variety of Asian countries populate the area. There is food galore, and most of it costs less than the tax you would pay in other parts of the city. It's also a bargain center for shoppers, and haggling is de rigueur, especially on Canal Street. English is not the primary language here, so unless you speak Cantonese, be prepared to be confused.

History

Chinatown started on Mott Street, Park, Pell and Doyer streets, east of the notorious Five Points district. By 1870, there was a Chinese population of 200. By the time the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed, the population was up to 2000 residents. By 1900, there were 7000 Chinese residents, but fewer than 200 Chinese women.

Chinatown Borders

Currently, the approximate borders of Chinatown are:

Delancey Street in the North (bordering the East Village and SoHo sections of NYC)
East Broadway in the East (stopping at the Williamsburg Bridge)
Broadway in the West (encroaching the TriBeCa sections of NYC)
Chambers Street in the South (encroaching the City Hall area)

It is an area of approximately one mile in the North-South direction of Manhattan Island by two miles in the East-West direction of the island.

Culture

Unlike most of other urban Chinatowns, New York Chinatown is both a residential area as well as commercial area. Most population estimates are in the range of 150,000 to 250,000 residents (some estimates go as high as 350,000 residents). It is difficult to get an exact count due to low participation of the US Census (due to language barriers as well as large scale illegal immigration). Besides the obvious 200 (some estimates go as high as 300) Chinese restaurants in the area for employment, there are still some sweat shops. The proximity of the fashion industry has kept some garment work in the local area though most of the garment industry has moved to China. The local garment industry now concentrates on quick production in small volumes and piece-work (paid by the piece) which is generally done at the worker's home. Much of the population growth is due to immigration. As previous generations of immigrants gain language and education skills, they tend to move to better housing and job prospects that are available in the suburbs and outer boroughs of New York.

Even as we head into the 21st century, the housing stock of Chinatown is still mostly composed of decrepit and cramped tenement buildings, some of which are over 100 years old. It is still common in such buildings to have bathrooms in the hallways which are shared among multiple apartments.

Architecture

For much of Chinatown's history, there were not many unique architectural features to announce that you had arrived into the neighborhood (other than the language of the shop signs). In 1962, at Chatham Square the Kam Lau memorial archway was erected in memorial of the Chinese-Americans who died in World War II. This memorial, which bears calligraphy by the great Yu Youren ??? (1879—1964), is mostly ignored by the residents due to its poor location on a busy car thoroughfare with little pedestrian traffic. A statue of Lin Zexu, a Fuzhou-based Chinese official who opposed the opium trade, is also located at the square; it faces uptown along East Broadway, now home to the bustling Fuzhou neighborhood and known locally as Fuzhou Street (Fúzhóu ji? ???). In the 1970s, the local phone company started capping the street phone booths with pagoda-like decorations. In 1976, the statue of Confucius in front of Confucius Plaza became a common meeting place. In the 1980s, banks which opened new branches and others which were renovating started to use Chinese traditional styles for their building facades.