Chinatown

Chinatown, in San Francisco, California is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its... more

by Ric Soulen

Title

Chinatown

Artist

Ric Soulen

Medium

Photograph - Photographic Luminism

Description

Chinatown, in San Francisco, California is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its establishment in 1848, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. The area was the one geographical region deeded by the city government and private property owners which allowed Chinese persons to inherit and inhabit dwellings within the city. Many working-class Hong Kong Chinese immigrants began arriving in large numbers in the 1960s and despite their status and professions in Hong Kong, had to find low-paying employment in restaurants and garment factories in Chinatown because of limited English fluency. Chinatown is an enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. There are two hospitals, numerous parks and squares, a post office, and other infrastructure. Visitors can easily become immersed in a microcosmic Asian world, filled with herbal shops, temples, pagoda roofs and dragon parades. In addition to being a starting point and home for thousands of Chinese immigrants, it is also a major tourist attraction, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge.
According to the San Francisco Planning Department, Chinatown is "the most densely populated urban area west of Manhattan," with 15,000 residents living in 20 square blocks. In the 1970s, the population density in Chinatown was seven times the San Francisco average. The estimated total population in the 2000 Census was at 100,574 residents. It is also one of the more working-class sections of the city.

Uploaded

December 12th, 2012