Chinatown ( or ) is a community in
Southwest Houston
Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90.
Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in Southwest Houston. ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
There is another Chinatown called "Old Chinatown" located within the
East Downtown Houston
East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...
district near the
George R. Brown Convention Center
The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), opened on September 26, 1987, is located on the east side of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States.
The center was named for internationally recognized entrepreneur, engineer, civic leader, philan ...
.
History
The first businesses of the new Houston Chinatown opened in 1983.
[Gray, Lisa.]
Branding Chinatown: Neighborhood transforms
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. January 8, 2008. Retrieved on August 11, 2011. In the 1980s increasing numbers of Chinese were living in
Southwest Houston
Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90.
Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in Southwest Houston. ...
and
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days.
Th ...
and those residents were further away from the old Chinatown in what is now
East Downtown
East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...
.
[Rodriguez, Nestor, p]
39
Diho Square (), home to a Diho Supermarket chain outlet, was built, followed by Dynasty Plaza () in 1986-1987, a complex developed by a Singaporean friend of Diho Supermarket operator Tsang Dat Wong; the latter invited the former to build in Houston. Developers at the time bought land, inexpensive due to the
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
, in hopes of prosperous development later.
[Knapp and Vojnovic, p. 354 (PDF p. 11/27).] From the 1980s until the 2000s, the
census tracts
A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...
housing sections of Chinatown saw decreasing income levels and real estate values.
[Knapp and Vojnovic, p. 357 (PDF p. 14/27).]
The new Chinatown began to expand in the 1990s when Houston-area Asian American entrepreneurs moved their businesses from older neighborhoods, especially the "Old Chinatown" on the eastern end of Downtown Houston (in the process of redevelopment), in a search for more inexpensive properties and lower crime rates. Hong Kong City Mall (), owned by an ethnic Vietnamese man named Hai Du Duong, opened in 1999. In 2004 Nancy Sarnoff of the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
'' described it as a westward shift for Chinatown.
In 2005 Christy Chang, a tour operator who operated tours into Chinatown, said, "This area is not just Chinatown anymore. If anything, it's Asia Town" due to the presence of various ethnic groups that began establishing themselves in the community.
[Rodriguez, Lori.]
Opinions vary over naming the growing Asian community on Houston's southwest side
. (Archived on May 15, 2008). Alternate version without Chinatown map:
DIVERSITY DEBATE / Chinatown outgrowing name / Opinions vary over naming the growing Asian community on Houston's southwest side
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. Wednesday May 9, 2007. A1. The Asian American Business Council estimated that between 2004 and 2008 the land values along
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard (also known as Holcombe, and as 百利大道 ''Bǎilì Dàdào'' in Chinese and ''Đại Lộ Sàigòn'' in Vietnamese) is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated a ...
() in Chinatown increased between 25 and 50 percent. In 2008 the group estimated that in construction would appear within two years, including high-end condominiums. Lisa Gray of the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
'' wrote that the development of the remaining acreage would likely cause rents to increase and that, compared to many other Chinatowns in the United States, the Houston Chinatown is still relatively inexpensive.
In 2008 the Asian American Business Council placed a contest to design a "landmark monument" to be placed on Bellaire Boulevard between
Beltway 8
Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County.
Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texa ...
() and Gessner Road () in order to increase visibility among Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans and to beautify the area.
Xenophobia stoked during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
caused a steep decline in customers, as malicious people spread rumors about Chinese-Americans in Houston.
Cityscape
The
Southwest Management District
Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...
(formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District) defines it as being roughly bounded by Redding Rd and Gessner Rd to the East, Westpark Dr to the North, Beltway 8 to the West, and Beechnut St to the South.
The Greater Sharpstown Management District defines Chinatown within its borders as being a area.
[Chinatown]
"
Archive
Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on December 4, 2012
Map image
Archive
" Chinatown GSMD-MarketZones-Chinatown Population: 29,993 Area: 2.37 Square Miles"
According to the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GHCVB), ''Chinatown'' along with
Little Saigon
Little Saigon ( vi, Sài Gòn nhỏ or Tiểu Sài Gòn) is a name given to ethnic enclaves of expatriate Vietnamese mainly in English-speaking countries. Alternate names include Little Vietnam and Little Hanoi (mainly in historically communist ...
(just west of the neighborhood) combine to form a combined Asiatown. The combined border roughly bounded by Fondren Road, Beechnut Street,
State Highway 6, and Westpark Drive, and lies between
Alief
Alief is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated ...
and the city of
Bellaire. The naming is disputed as other ethnic groups are within the expanded boundaries.
The Bellaire Chinatown is about southwest of
Downtown Houston
Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...
.
[ It is over , making it among the largest automobile-centric Chinatowns in the ]Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. The Chinatown is located on a mostly treeless plain.[Schilcutt, Katharine.]
Top 10 Restaurants In Chinatown
" ''Houston Press
The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.
The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...
''. Wednesday June 16, 2010. Retrieved on June 17, 2010. The community is between Westchase and the City of Sugar Land. Katharine Shilcutt of the ''Houston Press
The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.
The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...
'' said that Chinatown was "straddling Beltway 8 on the southwest side like an entire city unto itself." Sarnoff said that historically the intersection of Bellaire and Corporate Drive () served as the center of Chinatown, though that this was moving to the west by 2004.[
Much of the land of Chinatown is owned by private entities, so there are relatively few public areas.][ The new Chinatown is located within a residential area of single-family houses and apartments, and its spread-out nature differs from the ]East Downtown
East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...
Chinatown, which was in a relatively compact area. Many of the surrounding residential areas and office developments were built in the 1990s and 2000s.[
The businesses within the new Chinatown include a mall, supermarkets, shopping centers, restaurants, and bakeries. The street signs have Chinese characters.][ Knapp and Vojnovic identified Hong Kong City Mall as the "symbolic center",][ and "visual center", as it houses the ]paifang
A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...
(Chinese arch).[Knapp and Vojnovic, p. 356 (PDF p. 13/27).]
The Bellaire Chinatown has many "retail condos," shopping centers in which spaces are owned instead of leased. Many East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
n people prefer to own shopping places instead of renting them. In the United States "retail condos" are rare outside areas populated by East Asian Americans
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
. The community has restaurants serving many kinds of cuisines, including Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
, Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
, Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
, Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, Laotian, Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
, Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
, and Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
. In addition it has restaurants operated by ethnic Vietnamese that serve Louisiana-style crawfish. The community also has many fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...
restaurants. Shilcutt said that "the restaurant density in this area is roughly equivalent to the population density of Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
."
Lisa Gray of the ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
'' stated that this Chinatown resembles newer Chinatowns that opened in automobile-oriented metropolitan areas in the United States such as suburbs in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
and the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
, as opposed to older, uniformly Chinese, pedestrian-oriented Chinatowns in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. Gray said that in older Chinatowns immigrant businesses cluster together by ethnic group, while in newer automobile oriented Chinatowns retail operations from different ethnic groups move in next door to each other.
Demographics
As of 2012, according to the Greater Sharpstown Management District
Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...
the portion of Chinatown within the boundaries of the Greater Sharpstown district has 29,993 people.[ The clientele of this Chinatown tends to be middle class.][
]
Government and instrastructure
Two Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.
Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...
districts, F and J, serve the new Chinatown.[City of Houston, Council District Maps, District F](_blank)
." City of Houston. Retrieved on November 5, 2011. District J was created to allow Hispanics to more easily elect representatives who cater to them.
The new Chinatown is served by two Houston Police Department
The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...
patrol divisions, the Midwest Patrol Division and the Westside Patrol Division, of the Houston Police Department
The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...
.[VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES PROGRAM – Citizens Offering Police Support]
" ''City of Houston''. Retrieved on September 23, 2008.
" Houston Police Department
The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...
. Retrieved on May 27, 2010. The Midwest division operates the Ranchester Storefront ( "Chinatown Police Office") in the Diho Square complex.
Fire stations located within Chinatown's boundaries include Station 10 Bellaire ( "Fire Brigade #10") and Station 76 Alief Community, both a part of Fire District 83. Station 10, previously located in what is now East Downtown
East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...
, moved to its current location in 1985.[Welcome to EaDo]
." ''East Downtown Management District''. Retrieved on August 1, 2009. Station 76 was built in 1985.
Economy
Nearly a dozen banks, including overseas Chinese banks
Overseas Chinese-focused banks excelled in commerce, finance, and many other industries. While catering to Chinese immigrants in foreign countries, these banks are not controlled by the Chinese government, nor do they have any ties with the Chinese ...
and mainstream banks, are located along a less-than- stretch of Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard (also known as Holcombe, and as 百利大道 ''Bǎilì Dàdào'' in Chinese and ''Đại Lộ Sàigòn'' in Vietnamese) is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated a ...
, near Beltway 8
Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County.
Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texa ...
. The clientele of these banks include area residents and Asian American entrepreneurs. Robert Lee, an executive vice president of MetroBank, said, "They call it the Wall Street of Chinatown."[Moreno, Jenalia.]
Houston's 'Chinatown' near Beltway 8 sparks banking boom
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. Sunday February 18, 2007. Retrieved on October 16, 2011.
In the three decades before 2007, Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
had one of the few bank branches in the area. Businesspeople began to open Asian American ethnic grocery stores and seafood markets. In the 1980s, Wells Fargo added signs in Chinese and hired tellers who spoke Cantonese, Korean, and nine other languages. During the same decade, local businesspeople opened MetroBank and Texas First National Bank during a banking crisis that hurt the state's mainstream banks. George Lee, the president of MetroCorp Bancshares, said, "All the banks were in trouble, and the ones that were not in trouble didn't understand the needs of the Asian community." American First National Bank and Southwestern National Bank opened in the 1990s. As of 2007, many Asian businesses operate in the area, and so Asian American banks have opened to cater to them. As of that year Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual (often abbreviated to WaMu) was the United States' largest savings and loan association until its collapse in 2008.
A savings bank holding company is defined in United States Code: Title 12: Banks and Banking; Section 1842: Def ...
(now JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
) was the last company to open a bank branch in that area of Chinatown. Texas First National is now known as Golden Bank.
Southwestern National Bank
Southwestern National Bank ( zh, t=美南銀行, s=美南银行, p=Měi Nán Yínháng) is a United States based community bank with headquarters in Chinatown, Houston, Chinatown and in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Greater Sharpstown in Houston, ...
has its headquarters in Chinatown and Greater Sharpstown. American First National Bank maintains a 12-story, $30 million headquarters building in Chinatown. MetroCorp Bancshares and subsidiary MetroBank previously had their headquarters in Chinatown and in Greater Sharpstown
Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...
.
Halliburton
Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
previously operated the Houston Office (a.k.a. Oak Park Campus) on 67 acres of land in Chinatown and in the Westchase district
Westchase is a business district and neighborhood in western Houston, Texas, bounded by Westheimer Road on the north, Gessner Road on the east, Houston Center Boulevard on the west, and Westpark Tollway on the south. The area is bisected by Beltwa ...
.[SECT5-key.gif]
." ''Westchase District''. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.[Clanton, Brett.]
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
''. April 3, 2009. Retrieved on April 3, 2009.[Sarnoff, Nancy.]
Halliburton move could create hole in Houston's office market
" ''Houston Business Journal
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...
''. Friday August 10, 2001. Retrieved on November 11, 2009. The complex included the Latin America division of Easywell, a division of Halliburton. The building first opened as a Brown and Root
KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dress ...
facility in 1979. In 2009 the Westchase campus had 1,700 employees; Halliburton plans to increase employment at Oak Park to 3,000. At the Bellaire site Halliburton plans to build a 16-story tower, a two-story "life center," an additional parking garage, expanded child care facilities, auditoriums, and bridges to connect the many buildings. In 2009 Halliburton had about 1,000 employees in leased office space in Westchase. During that year Halliburton said that it planned to vacate the leased space.[HALLIBURTON TO CONSOLIDATE HOUSTON OPERATIONS]
." Halliburton. April 3, 2009. Retrieved on January 22, 2010. The plans for the Oak Park office had been delayed by one year, and Halliburton expected completion in 2013. However Halliburton closed it in 2015, and in 2020 a planned demolition was revealed.[
]
Education
The new Chinatown is served by two school districts. Most of the New Chinatown according to the GHCVB definition is served by the Alief Independent School District
Alief Independent School District is a school district that is based in southwest Houston, Texas, United States.
Alief ISD, which covers of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporated Harris County. In Hous ...
, while an eastern portion is served by the Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
. The HISD portion of the community is within Trustee District VI, represented by Greg Meyers as of 2008.
Alief Independent School District
Zoned elementary schools (K-4) located within the GHCVB definition of Chinatown include A. J. Bush, Chambers, Chancellor, Collins, Hearne, Liestman, Mahanay, Martin, and Youens. In addition Sneed Elementary School, outside Chinatown, serves a portion of Chinatown. Bilingual students zoned to Chancellor attend Youens, and bilingual students zoned to Mahanay attend Hearne.
Owens Middle School is a zoned intermediate school in Chinatown. Budewig, Miller, and Youngblood, outside Chinatown, serve portions of Chinatown. Middle schools in Chinatown include Alief Middle, Killough, and O'Donnell. A portion is served by Albright Middle, outside Chinatown.[2007–2008 Intermediate and Middle School Boundaries]
." Alief Independent School District
Alief Independent School District is a school district that is based in southwest Houston, Texas, United States.
Alief ISD, which covers of land, covers a small portion of southwest Houston and parts of unincorporated Harris County. In Hous ...
. Retrieved on June 2, 2010.
Regardless of location within the district, all Alief ISD residents may be randomly assigned to either Alief Elsik High School
Alief Elsik High School is a high school in the Alief region of Houston, Texas, United States.
Elsik is divided into two campuses: the main campus (12601 High Star in Houston, zip code 77072), and the Alief Elsik Ninth Grade Center (located at ...
, Alief Hastings High School
Alief Hastings High School is a public high school in the Alief area of Houston, Texas, United States. Originally Alief Junior-Senior High School, which became Alief Middle School, housed all of the secondary students in the district. The schoo ...
, and Alief Taylor High School
Alief Taylor High School is a public high school in the Alief Independent School District. It is located in an unincorporated area in the Alief community of Harris County, near Houston. Opened in 2001, Alief Taylor is the newest high school in ...
; all of them are in Chinatown. In addition the magnet school Alief Kerr High School is in Chinatown.
Houston Independent School District
Neff and White Elementary Schools are located in the Houston ISD portion of Chinatown. Other portions are served by Emerson and Piney Point elementary schools.
Most of the HISD portion is zoned to Sugar Grove Middle School and Sharpstown High School
Sharpstown High School is a secondary school at 7504 Bissonnet Street in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas, United States with a zip code of 77074. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.
The sc ...
.
A portion of Chinatown is zoned to Revere Middle School and Wisdom High School
Margaret Long Wisdom High School, formerly Robert E. Lee High School, is a publicly funded secondary school located in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States 77057. The Houston Independent School District, the 7th largest school district in the ...
(formerly Lee High School).
Prior to 2011, Sharpstown Middle School served most of the HISD portion of Chinatown. The portion of the HISD portion of New Chinatown south of Bellaire Boulevard was zoned to Sharpstown High School, while the portion north of Bellaire Boulevard was zoned to Lee High School (With Lamar High School and Westside High School as options). For a period after 2011 the Sharpstown zone was assigned to Sharpstown International School for grades 6 through 12.
Private schools
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (properly referred to as Strake Jesuit or Jesuit but often informally called Strake by students and alumni) is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for boys, grades 9–12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greate ...
and Saint Agnes Academy are in Chinatown.[
]
Transportation
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (stylized as METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service ...
(METRO) provides local bus services to the area.
Recreation
Many Chinese holidays are celebrated in the Chinatown area with official events.[
The Chinese Community Center (CCC, , "Houston Chinese Culture Service Center"), an IRS 501(c)(3) organization and a ]United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
affiliate, is located at 9800 Town Park Drive. The facility opened in 1979 as the Chinese Language School. The CCC has several levels of English classes offered daily. As of 2006, at CCC about 80% of the students have university degrees, and the other 20% are their family members.
There is a mural representing the pan-Asian cultures made by Thomas Tran, called the Asiatown Community Mural. The organization Houston in Action gave a grant to the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association (VCSA), which hired Tran. Over 200 people created the mural without payment, and the mural opened in 2022.
See also
*East Downtown Houston
East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...
*Little Saigon, Houston
Little Saigon, also popularly known as Vietnamtown or simply Viet-Town, is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas centered on Bellaire Boulevard west of Chinatown. It is one of the largest Vietnamese enclaves in the United States.
It is located withi ...
References
*
* Rodriguez, Nestor. "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston." in: Chafetz, Janet Salzman and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors). ''Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations''. AltaMira Press, October 18, 2000. , 9780759117129.
** Also available in: Ebaugh, Helen Rose Fuchs and Janet Saltzman Chafetz (editors). ''Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations''. Rowman & Littlefield, January 1, 2000. 0742503909, 9780742503908.
Notes
Further reading
*Swartz, Mimi.
New Chinatown, Houston
" ''Texas Monthly
''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...
''. February 2008.
External links
*
Chinatown
" Southwest Management District
Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...
.
*
Chinatown
(Archive). Greater Sharpstown Management District
Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...
.
Asian American Business Council
– Official New Chinatown Website for Detail Restaurants Guide, News, Entertainment and Cultural Event Schedule.
eBao – Asian American Lifestyle Online News
– eBao News Magazine covered Asian Community Business Events and Development.
Houston Chinatown
– Information about Houston's Chinatown and Asian Culture
– Map for the newer Chinatown on Bellaire Boulevard
{{US Chinatowns
Asian-American culture in Houston
Ethnic enclaves in Texas
Neighborhoods in Houston
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
Chinese-American culture in Texas
1983 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1983
Asian-American culture in Texas