chinatown losing the china

[Maru_chan]

have you ever noticed when you go to a chinatown how un-chinese alot of the stores food and stuff are? its becoming either more american or more generized asian to i suppose appeal to american. they shuld change it to "asiatown". :rolleyes:

[uhhden]

So I see you've discovered Washington DC's Chinatown....

[Fireblade]

Good luck with San Francisco's Chinatown. I still don't know half the names of the stuff they sell there.

[raacluse]

Compared to DC, Philly's chinatown hasn't done a bad job in preserving itself from encroachment by developers and other interests (remember the proposed downtown baseball stadium controversy?). The current art exhibit (http://www.chinatowninflux.org) is an interesting and welcome development.

DC Chinatown seems to have become an imitation of what it once was (which isn't saying much to begin with).

I know this retiree who lives in DC. Every year, around this time, he goes back to his native SF to celebrate Chinese New Year with family and friends.

He's critical of SF Chinatown, how run-down it's become. He's also critical of the way DC Chinatown has practically dissolved, over the 3 decades he's lived in the District.

Well, maybe things are not meant to endure in the same state forever...

[SunWuKong]

a lot of Chinese businesses in DC are now in the suburbs in Maryland.

[uhhden]

He's critical of SF Chinatown, how run-down it's become. He's also critical of the way DC Chinatown has practically dissolved, over the 3 decades he's lived in the District.

It's not like SF Chinatown has ever been the center of beauty. I've lived here all my life and it's always been filthy and rundown.

[doe-sun]

^
Why do you suppose that is? Do people not give a shit, do people trash the place, do the smart ones leave and never come back, is it corrupt, is it drugs...

what do you think it is?

[ahsingjai]

its because its old. The first chinatown in america?

Chinatown in L.A isnt even chinatown, its more like vietown.

[uhhden]

^
Why do you suppose that is? Do people not give a shit, do people trash the place, do the smart ones leave and never come back, is it corrupt, is it drugs...

what do you think it is?

The smart ones DO run and leave. I know lots of people who grew up in Chinatown and find work, school, and board elsewhere as fast as they can.

What opportunities do you really face inside of Chinatown in SF? About every one of my dad's friends that own a business inside Chinatown has to pay "protection money" or else they get their store trashed. Going to Chinatown after sundown is pretty damn scary...I know 2 friends who went to dinner on separate occassions in Chinatown and got robbed on one of the busier streets...

[thaite]

It's been long gone here. Row over Chinatown landmark stirs memories (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0121asian21.html)

[kimpossible]

Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't Chinatowns originally regulated segregation? As in they had to set up in a section of town away from whites? Not saying that Asian areas don't pop up on their own for their own reasons but I thought that was the history behind Chinatowns.

I'd say many are changing and moving. Like SWK mentioned a lot of the commerce is moving to suburbs. There's a lot of Asians in suburbs and shops set up there. If you're Asian you usually plug into the community one way or another and find the right stores. I don't mind the suburban Asian shopping centers. The stores tend to be a little bigger and the prices cheaper because rent isn't as high as it is in pricey downtown areas.

Most of the business or association offices that I know of remain downtown. But commerce does seem to be migrating to the suburbs as are a lot of Asian families. Even without trying we ended up knowing most of the Taiwanese in our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods. Everyone always knows someone. Including the families that owned bakeries, cafes, restaurants.

[uhhden]

Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't Chinatowns originally regulated segregation? As in they had to set up in a section of town away from whites? Not saying that Asian areas don't pop up on their own for their own reasons but I thought that was the history behind Chinatowns.

I don't know how it is elsewhere...but that's the story of SF Chinatown.

[ahsingjai]

In Oakland, Chinatown is a place for small businesses to grow. Anti-big companies. There is a new chinatown where SE-Asians/Chinese can open small business too. I think it's great to help provide labor for immgrant adults.

[bluemonq]

the way i see it, oakland chinatown is more of a residential thing. the sf one tends to attract a lot of tourists and gawkers.

[Broomer]

Personally, there's no point to Chinatown, in Melbourne at least. Chinatown used to be about food, it's now just a tourist trap really.
People wantting good eating tend to head to the suburbs. It was never really "China" town, it's more like Asian town (as someone else stated). Or Asia lane really as it's only one street.

The real China town in Melbourne (I feel) is Box Hill.

[nameless]

Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't Chinatowns originally regulated segregation? As in they had to set up in a section of town away from whites? Not saying that Asian areas don't pop up on their own for their own reasons but I thought that was the history behind Chinatowns.

Yeah, the Chinatowns of today were created when smaller Chinese communities were run out of town / state and relocated to more friendly areas (LA, SF). But they weren't arbitrarily created by city councils so much as they were just places Whites finally let Chinese settle.

[kasia]

It's not like SF Chinatown has ever been the center of beauty. I've lived here all my life and it's always been filthy and rundown.

seriously, and i like it that way. there's a part of s.f. chinatown that is obviously a tourist attraction. but i think if you go towards pacific/jackson area, it's hard to get by without being able to speak cantonese.

[eos]

chicago's chinatown was in a part of downtown before the rent increased and pushed merchants south into what was called "the levee district". this was chicago's asshole: brothels, corruption, gangs, any vice you can think of was situated here. the chinese actually entered into italian turf and pushed the italians into another neighborhood. this caused a LOT of tension that still simmers up today in some parts of chinatown where italians still live and in nearby neighborhoods. but chinatown today is still mostly chinese, i'd say 99%.

[ahsingjai]

seriously, and i like it that way. there's a part of s.f. chinatown that is obviously a tourist attraction. but i think if you go towards pacific/jackson area, it's hard to get by without being able to speak cantonese.

S.F got night time dim sum. Which is great!

[kimpossible]

I think the point is today that Chinatown cannotes different experiences for Chinese vs. non-Chinese. For non-Chinese it's more of a sight seeing attraction and if they don't see areas that look Chinese 'enough' to them, it looks like there is no Chinese community or that it's breaking down. Whereas Chinese may look more to the actual community and commerce, which isn't going to be locked down only the an area that looks 'Chinese enough' to outsiders.

It reminds me of people in the NW that think reservations are the only 'real' places indigenous people are and form a community and if there isn't a visual representation that looks 'Indian enough' to them they assume the community is breaking down or not in place. Never mind that some geographic locations taken over by colonizing forces may actually be of more historic or cultural significance.

But I guess it could be seen in a positive light. That the general population has come to value the cultural contribution of Chinatowns to American cities.