Chances are, wherever you go, there will be a Chinatown. These distinct neighborhoods were established by a large Chinese population who brought their traditions, culture, food, and stores to cities all around the world.
Businesses are opening and closing faster than you can say “ya ba” in the neighborhood. But what distinguishes Chinatown? Continue reading to learn more about Chinatown.
Why Was Chinatown Created?
Where was the world’s first Chinatown? A Chinatown can be found in practically every major city in the United States. These dense metropolitan areas, known for their highly decorated Chinese American enterprises, have survived for decades and generations.
Chinatowns function as communal centers for new immigrants as well as tourist destinations, but they also serve as reminders of a long and turbulent history that is closely related to America’s xenophobic treatment of Chinese immigration.
Racial exclusion and self-protection arose out of need due to “racial exclusion.” Overt bigotry toward Chinese immigrants drove them to seek safety in dense ethnic enclaves known as “Chinatowns.”
In order to survive, they must establish their own Chinatown in their own tiny area. Informal housing regulations and Asian segregation also drove Chinese immigrants to concentrate in Chinatowns because they couldn’t live freely among, or intermarry with, white Americans.
Where Was the World’s First Chinatown
Many Chinese immigrants began arriving in the United States in the mid-1800s, enticed by the economic promises of working for the expanding Transcontinental Railroad, laboring in timber mills in the Pacific Northwest, or seeking fortune in California’s “Gold Mountain” gold rush? In the 1850s alone, 25,000 Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States.
The United States’ first fully recognized Chinatown was established in San Francisco, where the first Chinese immigrants came in 1848. The neighborhood was established in the late 1840s, not long after the city’s first American flag was flown.
It was formerly known as “Little Canton” because of the Cantonese-speaking immigrants who came from the province of Canton in southern China, which is now known as Guangzhou. Local newspapers dubbed the region “Chinatown” in 1853, and it expanded to be a 12-block district of 22,000 Chinese immigrants by the 1880s. The male to female ratio was 20:1.
Because the 1875 Page Law prohibited Chinese men from bringing their wives or children, the majority of the first immigrants to Chinatown were single men. After WWII, when immigration restrictions on Chinese immigrants were lifted and family-based immigration policies were established, Chinese women were able to travel to the United States in much greater numbers, resulting in a family-oriented culture in Chinatown.
Many Chinatowns can be identified by the arched, ornamented gateways known as paifang, which are used for ceremonial purposes in Chinese villages. Buddhist temples and tea houses may also be present. The business district, on the other hand, is the defining aspect of any Chinatown. The community is defined by ethnic businesses.
Many Chinatowns can be identified by the arched, ornamented gateways known as paifang, which are used for ceremonial purposes in Chinese villages. Buddhist temples and tea houses may also be present. The business district, on the other hand, is the defining aspect of any Chinatown. The community is defined by ethnic businesses.
The Future of Chinatown
There are around 50 Chinatowns in the United States today. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Portland, Ore., are among the most well-known.
Chinatowns continue to serve as a lifeline for Chinese immigrants, assisting them in settling into a new country. Many Chinatown residents are low-income; in Manhattan, 24 percent of Chinatown residents live below the poverty line.
Many of the country’s oldest Chinatowns, however, are no longer thriving communities. In recent decades, Chinese Americans have transitioned away from urban Chinatowns and toward the suburbs in recent decades, as more educated Chinese professionals have moved to the United States.
Many Chinatowns are barely hanging on. Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia are just a few of the cities with Chinatowns that are less than 50% ethnic Chinese. While some Chinese-owned businesses remain in D.C. Chinatown had only 300 Chinese residents in 2015, down from 3,000 in 1970. And, while San Francisco’s Chinatown is home to approximately 14,000 people, almost 70% of whom are Chinese, some are concerned about how the neighborhood will maintain its culture in the face of gentrification, which threatens to push out family-run businesses.
Many second and third-generation Chinese Americans, however, are increasingly involved in programs to preserve them, such as the W.O.W. Project in Manhattan’s Chinatown. These kinds of non-profits may be able to save Chinatown. It is critical that the second-generation return defend the community against gentrification.
Chinatowns can provide a safe haven for Chinese Americans, especially as anti-Asian crimes increase. Because of anti-Asian bigotry during the COVID-19 pandemic, the historical and current demand for sanctuary has made Chinatowns an even more serious concern.
