CHINATOWN IN NEW YORK

Location :

Chinatown, Manhattan is home to the largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere. Its location is in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, bordering Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west.

Although a Business Improvement District has been identified for support, Chinatown has no officially defined borders, but they have been commonly considered to be approximated by the following streets:

Broome Street to the north, amalgamating with Little Italy Chambers Street to the south East Broadway to the east Broadway to the west (bordering TriBeCa)

HistoryChinese immigrants began civilization in Chinatown around the middle of the eighteenth century. There were only small numbers of immigrants to start with. Moving onto the middle of the nineteenth century, even more Chinese immigrants moved to Chinatown in NY to settle with their families or to find work on the streets, for traders, or for sailors. Chinese miners began to arrive in doubled numbers because of the promised “gold mountain” in California. This was during the gold rush in 1940. A lot of immigrants only arrived to work, earn money, and return to China with extra cash.

They were hired immediately due to their ability to work for lower wages and longer hours. The white population mobbed and raged against the Chinese workers who were taking their jobs, and drove them to larger cities. The larger cities held more job opportunities for the Chinese, and they blended in better with the diverse cultures of the larger cities. In 1880, the south east side of NYC, noted as the slums was home to over 300-1,000 Chinese immigrants.

Chinatown was largely supported of their own people in the Chinese community due to racial discrimination and self segregation. They created a structure internally which consisted of associations of governing for the community, businesses, offices, and such which supplied the people who health care, items needed for everyday living, food, and of course: jobs. Chinatown continued to increase throughout the ending of the nineteenth century. New Chinese immigrants were given contacts to board with when they arrived until they were on their feet. Chinese immigrants continued to slowly expand. The even continued to arrive after the Chinese Exclusion Act founded in 1882.

The Exclusion Act against Chinese immigrants was to stop the immigration of the Chinese people who came over for freedom rather than work. This meant that the white population was outraged due to the willingness of the Chinese people to work for lower wages in worse conditions which in turn, left fewer jobs for the white population. The law went on to state that they forbid any naturalization by any Chinese person already in the United States, and this bars the immigration of any Chinese person not given a special work permit to work in the United States. The work permit must deem the individual a merchant, student, or diplomat. It also prohibits the immigration of wives and children of Chinese workers already living in the United States. The act continued to increase in restrictions throughout the coming years. The act was lifted during World War II.

Once the act was lifted from Chinese immigrants, Chinatown began to increase in numbers again. They continued to expand, slowly, throughout the 1940’s and 50’s.

In the late 1960’s, without an immigration quota to abide by, the population boomed. Chinese immigrants flocked into Chinatown from the mainland. They expanded Chinatown much further than it started, taking over parts of Little Italy. They would purchase buildings and apartments to turn into businesses selling garments and goods using cash. They started receiving foreign investments from Hong Kong, this makes Chinatown one of the biggest and hottest commodities when it comes to living, immigration, and small societies that are self structured.

PeopleWith an estimated population of 90,000 to 100,000 people, Manhattan's Chinatown is also one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia, consisting primarily of Cantonese and Min-speaking residents, although there are now some Mandarin speakers. It is one of six Chinatown neighborhoods in New York City and eight in the New York City Metropolitan Area, which contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, enumerating an estimated 735,000 individuals; the remaining Chinatowns are located in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn and in Nassau County. In addition, Manhattan's Little Fuzhou , an enclave populated primarily by more recent Chinese immigrants from the Fujian Province of China, is technically considered a part of Manhattan's Chinatown, albeit now developing a separate identity of its own.

FoodNew York has a long lineage of Chinese restaurants, from swank stalwarts in Midtown to destination-worthy Szechuan fare in Flushing. With so many options like pork buns, dim sum, Peking duck or ma po tofu. It’s enough to make even the most seasoned eater pack it in and call for takeout. That’s where Time Out New York comes in.

Chinatown is home to more than 300 restaurants. Visitors can see dozens of traditional tea parlors, dumpling houses and food vendor carts scattered throughout the neighborhood. Chinatown food markets sell hard-to-find dried ingredients, including Chinese spices, sauces and soup bases, Chinese preserved sausage, fresh seafood, preserved vegetables and exotic fruits including star fruits, durians and lychees.

PlacesChinatown crosses into several districts of New York, including Manhattan and Brooklyn Visitors can explore hundreds of attractions, stores and restaurants lining Chambers Street, Frankfort Street, Ridge Street and Essex Street among others. Every year, the streets of Chinatown light up with lanterns and colorful lights to celebrate the Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade. Since the Chinese New Year is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, the date of this celebration changes every year.

The list of atracctions maybe Canal Street, the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, the Mahayna Buddhist Temple, The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and Winnie's karaoke bar as the top five Chinatown attractions. Other things to see include Chatham Square, home to the statue of Lin Zexo, a historic hero and the Kim Lau Memorial Arch that was built in memory of Chinese Americans who died in World War II; Confucious Plaza; and the Eastern States Buddhist Temple.