A Close-Up of New York City’s Chinatown

Just a stone’s throw away and one block behind the imposing New York State Supreme Court on Foley Square at the Civic Center neighbourhood lies another world that seems miles away from Wall Street and Manhattan’s glamorous façades - Chinatown. It’s a world of its own, an enclave that is neither American nor really Chinese, but something in between. Its hasty pulsing streets are brimming with tourists, souvenir shops, massage salons, restaurants, Chinese bakeries and bubble tea shops, food stalls and vendors selling all kinds of Asian groceries, from exotic fruits and vegetables to fresh seafood and herbal medicine and much more. The combination of red and neon-coloured Chinese characters, the different Chinese sounds and dialects, the intense smell of the fish market, of fermented food, soy sauce, fish sauce and spices might feel alien and bizarre, yet intriguing.

Whenever I heard of Chinatown, I could only think of one Chinatown. But who would have thought, that there is not just one but several Chinatowns in New York City. Twelve in total to be precise, with the oldest and most prominent one located in Lower Manhattan and others in Brooklyn and Queens. The sheer number of Chinatowns, scattered across one single city goes beyond my imagination of size and space. Manhattan’s Chinatown is one of the most densely populated areas in New York City. With an estimated 100.000 to 150.000 residents, it’s the biggest Chinatown inside the US and the epicentre of the cultural, social and political life of Chinese people in New York. Approximately 500.000 people with Chinese origin live in New York City and its boroughs, many of them in their 3rd or 4th generation.

Street vendor selling fresh vegetables in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York City

Street vendor with dragon fruits and papayas in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York City

Looking Back on a Dramatic History

Street vendor selling traditional handcrafted toys in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York City

Chinatown tells a dramatic story of Chinese migration to the US. Compared to the fairly young Chinese and other Asian communities in Europe, the formation of the Chinese diaspora in America dated as far back as to the mid 19th century when America stood in front of its industrial revolution, a time when the first big waves of immigrants from all corners of the world flocked to the US to look for their fortune. Many Chinese came in the wake of the gold rush to California to work in the mines. Others had fled in the cause of the Taiping Rebellion, a bitter civil war taking place between 1850 and 1865, affecting significant parts of Southern China. Because of their cheap labour large numbers of Chinese were later recruited by mining companies to build the Transcontinental Railroad.

Bonsai Nursery in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York City

However, by the 1870s, Chinese workers were no longer welcome. The American Civil War had plunged the US economy into a crisis, in which many people became unemployed and feared for their existence. Chinese and white workers competed for the scarce jobs, leading to rising sentiment and discrimination among the white population towards Chinese people. This development drove Chinese workers who first settled at the West Coast to move further east and to New York City to make a living. They began to settle around Mott Street, a low-rent area in Lower Manhattan at the time that was deemed undesirable by white Americans due to its reputation as a slum. And so Chinatown was born.

Senior residents at Columbus Park in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Chinatown was not a homogenous area populated solely by Chinese people. In fact, it was occupied by several ethnic groups that would later gave way to Chinese immigrants as more of them arrived at the ports of New York. Despite common believe, the Chinese who predominantly occupied Chinatown were not a homogenous group either. They came from various different provinces of China, spoke different dialects, had different cultures and political affiliations (Kathryn Christensen).

The Bachelor’s Society

Statue of Sun Yat Sen at Columbus Park in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Most Chinese immigrants were exclusively male. Since only men were strong enough to undertake the long journey across the Pacific and carrying out the hard labour in the mines and on the construction sides. Those men who left their wives and children behind, started to organise themselves by forming societies and associations sorted by native places and families to rule the Chinatowns at the East and West Coasts. These societies and associations were close brotherhoods, rigorously organised and provided the people of Chinatown with a self-supporting social, economical, political and cultural infrastructure, which was vital for their survival. But as noble as those societies and associations may seem, many of them were far from being charities caring for the social welfare in their neighbourhood. They often turned into rival organisations in which clans waged bloody wars against one another over territories and shadow economies. Chinatown became an even more critical social hotspot.

Senior residents gather for a match at Columbus Park. Chinatown. New York

It was the period of the “Bachelor’s Society”, caused by the gender imbalance in Chinatown, which got worse after the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 by the government to prevent further Chinese immigration to the US. The Exclusion Act forbid the naturalization of Chinese persons already living in the United States and restricted the number of special work permit giving to immigrants. It went on to prohibit the immigration of wives and children of Chinese workers already based in the US, which led to an even sharper gender ratio, resulting in 40 - 150 women to 7000 men by the 1900s (Sarah Waxman). The act was even tightened in the following decades.

Period of Rapid Growth

It wasn’t until during World War II when the Exclusion Act was finally lifted, which allowed the population of Chinatown to increase again. Due to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, the immigration laws became more lenient. Once the quota for Chinese immigrants was raised in 1968, another big wave of Mainland Chinese flooded Chinatown. Since it was already overcrowded and the housing situation dire, Chinatown was now bursting at the seams. It quickly expanded, taking over parts of the bordering Little Italy. Despite the poor living conditions and the cramped dwellings, the demand for properties in Chinatown remained high. Property prices and rent went rocketing in Chinatown, and is now considered one of the highest in the city.

Socio-Economic Challenges

Since the very beginning, Chinese people have been exploited by various sides while working under the most severe conditions and below minimum wage. The steadily rising numbers of Chinese immigrants to Chinatown worsened the situation, which early on resulted in shadow economies and organised crime. Fuelled by a negative press over gang violence in Chinatown during the 1970s and 2000s, the area and its residents have often been stigmatised as dodgy and dangerous. Due to discrimination, exclusion and self-segregation, many Chinese people in Chinatown never truly integrated into the American society, despite living in New York for generations and calling it their home. This is a problem that is particularly widespread among the senior population. Although gentrification already took place in Chinatown in the 2010s, a great part of its senior residents still remained in their old quarters. Chinatown is now facing an aging population with a high poverty rate among the elderly, which also reflect in its streetscape. According to the annual report of the NYU Furman Center, in 2019 24% were living under the poverty line compared to 16% citywide.

Latest Developments and Outlook

Grocery store in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Today’s Chinatown is an integral part of New York's cultural and especially culinary life, a vast commercial district, attracting both hungry locals and tourists at the same time. Not only Chinese but also other Asian businesses have settled in this area. Also a younger generation of Chinese restaurateurs have set out to create a more modern dining experience that stands in stark contrast to the often very traditional eateries and takeaway shops of their parents. However, the outbreak of the pandemic brought another blow to bustling Chinatown. The combination of a state-mandated lockdown and rising anti-Asian sentiment over the cause of the pandemic has left Chinatown in crisis. Chinatown’s businesses were in an alarming standstill. Many restaurants and small shops were forced to close for uncertainty.

Fish market in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Fortunately, a group of young Asian business owners in Chinatown were determined to save their community by setting up donation campaigns and crowedsourced fundings under the name “Welcome to Chinatown” to support restaurants and businesses that were neglected by the national COVID-19 relief program. A team of volunteers at the initiative is also supporting local restaurants - many of which still offline and only accepting cash, to take a leap into the digital age by helping them to build a more sustainable business model (Jamie Lui). While other groups like “Heart of Dinner” have formed to provide free meals to people in need and to deliver hot meals to Chinatown’s elderly and homebound residents. It surely will take a lot for Chinatown to recover and to get back to normal business.

Fresh Seafood at Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

If you happen to be in Manhattan’s Chinatown and want to find out more about its life and history, why not pay a visit to the MOCA – Museum of Chinese in America? The collection of the intimate museum at the heart of Chinatown on Centre Street documents the history of Chinese Americans from the 19th century to the present and offers a thorough look at a group of Americans that is often overlooked.

Dried squid and shrimps at Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Dried fish and shrimps at Chinatown. Manhattan. New York

Red jujubes and other condiments at a grocery store in Chinatown. Manhattan. New York