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Chinatown is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
on the South Side of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, along S. Wentworth Avenue between Cermak Road and W. 26th St. Over a third of Chicago's Chinese population resides in this
ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
, making it one of the largest concentrations of Chinese-Americans in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It formed around 1912, after settlers moved south from near the Loop, where the first enclaves were established in the 19th century. Chinatown is sometimes confused with an area on the city's North Side, " New Chinatown", which is largely populated by people of
Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...
heritage.


History


Initial migration and "old" Chinatown

Looking to escape the anti-Chinese violence that had broken out on the west coast, the first Chinese people arrived in Chicago after 1869 when the
first transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
was completed. Aside from ethnic violence, governments on the west coast had begun to systematically target Chinese people, such as a 1870 San Francisco ordinance that taxed laundrymen who used horseless wagons for their deliveries. This discrimination on the west coast, in tandem with poor economic conditions at the time, led to intense Chinese migration to other areas of the United States. Further aiding this rapid migration was the fact that many Chinese people lost their jobs after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, as they had made up 90% of the workforce for the Central Pacific Railroad. At first, Chinese people in Chicago were largely welcomed by their fellow Chicagoans of all races. As early immigrant Moy Dong Chow would later state, "the Chicagoans found us a peculiar people to be sure, but they liked to mix with us." The willingness of Chinese Chicagoans to accept Christian missions in Chinatown also helped to ease tensions between the two groups. By 1909, there were two Christian missions in old Chinatown, and eight other missions dedicated to serving ethnic Chinese by 1909. This acceptance led to a prospering early Chinese community in Chicago. By the late 1800s, 25% of Chicago's approximately 600 Chinese residents settled along Clark Street between Van Buren and Harrison Streets in Chicago's Loop.Kiang 2008 In the mid-1870s, the Kim Kee Company opened a store selling imported Chinese goods and ingredients, and in the basement of the same building stood a Chinese-owned restaurant. In 1889, 16 Chinese-owned businesses were located along the two-block stretch, including eight grocery stores, two butcher shops and a restaurant. Other businesses operated in the early Chinatown included gambling houses, headquarters of family associations, and Christian mission houses. Further, grocery stores in Chinatown could double as a cultural center, where people would gamble, consume rice wine, and smoke cigars. Laundry services were also quite important to the average working Chinese man in the original Chinatown, with 198 Chinese laundries by 1883. However, by 1897, white Chicagoans had begun to open laundry businesses as well. Many white laundrymen offered their services cheaper than the Chinese laundrymen, causing the leaders of Chinatown to declare "war" on the "cheap foreign labor" that was hurting Chinese laundry businesses in the area. By 1903, white Chicagoans also became highly interested in the increasingly popular "fad" of chop suey restaurants in Chinatown, with the cuisine developing a "mysterious" aura among whites. This helped lead to the opening of more restaurants on Clark Street. By the turn of the century, numerous powerful clans and family associations rose up among the Chinese population in Chicago. The first and most powerful was the Moy clan, who were the de facto leaders of the Chinese people in Chicago, and, even from this earlier period of migration, the Moy Family Association came to be the largest association in the city. From 1898 to 1940, there were over six thousand immigrant files in Chicago, and over one thousand of these files contained the name "Moy". Sam Moy was the first "mayor" of Chinatown, and he acted as an interpreter and interacted with city officials on behalf of the area. Besides the Moy clan, other major clans in early Chinatown were the Wong and Chin clans. The prevalence of just a few surnames reflects the phenomenon of
chain migration Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country. John S. MacDon ...
and the continuing propensity of transnational ties that existed early on within Chinatown. Following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...
, Chinese Americans arrived in Chicago in droves and were vehemently supported by the city's Chinese residents, largely due to the preexisting clan associations who sought to take care of their kinsmen. The importance of clan ties for finding success in Chinatown continued for decades, with many clans financing businesses through fellow members of their family association or strictly hiring kinsmen to work in their businesses. The Chinese population more than doubled from 1890 to 1900, with many of these new migrants residing in the original Chinatown. In terms of ties to mainland China, the large majority of the early Chinese people in Chicago were from Taishan, such as influential merchants Chin Foin and Moy Dong Chow. Old Chinatown, like other highly-populated Chinatowns in cities across the country, was a major site of the Tong Wars, and there were several high profile incidents related to these wars throughout early Chinatown's history. In 1909, a large shootout broke out between different Tongs, leading to mass arrests. Later, in 1911 Lee Yip Wing and Moy Dong Tong were shot for failing to comply with demands by the Hip Sing Tong. The Tong Wars would continue for the next several decades, with Chicago and Chinatown constantly preparing for another outbreak of violence. For example, in 1930 extra police details were sent to Chinatown after a truce was called off between the warring parties.


Relocation South

While Chinese people in Chicago had been relatively welcomed by the locals in the past, the renewal of the
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
in 1892, in tandem with the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
in Chicago in 1893, brought a significant amount of discrimination to the Chinese population. Because of this, in 1912, Chinese people living in this area began moving south to Armour Square, with about half of all Chinese people moving out of Clark Street into the South Side by this time. Some historians say this was due to increasing rent prices, as rents were significantly higher for Chinese businesses than similar white businesses.Solzman 2008 Others see more complex causes: discrimination, overcrowding, a high non-Chinese crime rate, and disagreements between the two associations ("tongs") within the community, the Hip Sing Tong and the On Leong Tong. Largely, however, the move was a result of multiple factors including racial prejudice, cultural bias, and economic competition. One such example of racial prejudice was incited by the murder of Elsie Sigel in New York City by a supposedly Chinese man, which made white residents in Chicago suspicious of the close relationship between white women and Chinese men in their own city. Yet another factor that precipitated the move further south was the impending construction of a federal building in the heart of the old Chinatown in 1911, which would require many Chinese-owned buildings to be demolished. By 1911, prominent Chinese men in Chicago were already negotiating with property holders about moving two miles south.
Clipping
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.
In response to this, the move to the new South Side Chinatown was led by the On Leong Merchants Association who, in 1912, had a building constructed along
Cermak Road Cermak Road, also known as 22nd Street, is a 19-mile, major east–west street on Chicago's near south and west sides and the city's western suburbs. In Chicago's street numbering system, Cermak is 2200 south, or twenty-two blocks south of the ...
(then 22nd Street) that could house 15 stores, 30 apartments and the Association's headquarters. While the building's design was typical of the period, it also featured Chinese accents such as tile trim adorned with dragons. The total cost of the building was $200,000. In addition, the On Leong Merchants Association purchased a series of ten year leases to develop the surrounding area. Thus, starting in 1912, the area near Wentworth Avenue and Cermak Road was officially proclaimed the "New Chinatown". Even in the first year of this move south, Chinese people in the new Chinatown faced significant discrimination from the established Italian community in Armor Square, causing them to restrict the new Chinatown to just one square block at 22nd Street and Princeton Avenue. This discrimination was a continuation of tensions that were present before the move south, when non-Chinese residents fearing a "yellow invasion" sought to block Chinese people buying property in Armour Square. The new Chinatown would come to hold over one-third of Chicago's two thousand strong Chinese population soon after its founding. Politically, many in new Chinatown were united in their strong support of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. In 1919, a visit to Chinatown by Wang Chen Wei, the right hand man of the Republic’s first president
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
, produced a large parade with many Republican banners flying. As new Chinatown grew significantly, the old Chinatown was left largely empty of ethnic Chinese inhabitants. According to one contemporary journalist, by 1927 there were a hundred "for rent" signs on the windows of the old Chinatown, with only two Chinese businesses remaining. In the 1920s, Chinese community leaders secured approximately 50 ten-year leases on properties in the newly developing Chinatown. Because of severe racial discrimination, these leases needed to be secured via an
intermediary An intermediary, also known as a middleman or go-between, is defined differently by context. In law or diplomacy, an intermediary is a third-party beneficiary, third party who offers intermediation services between two parties. In trade or barte ...
, H. O. Stone Company. Jim Moy, then-director of the On Leong Merchants Association, then decided that a Chinese-style building should be constructed as a strong visual announcement of the Chinese community's new presence in the area.Ho 2005, p. 58. With no Chinese-born architects in Chicago at the time, Chicago-born Norse architects Christian S. Michaelsen and Sigurd A. Rognstad were asked to design the new On Leong Merchants Association Building in spring 1926. Michaelsen and Rognstad drew their final design after studying texts on Chinese architecture. When the building opened in 1928 at a cost of a million dollars, it was the finest large Chinese-style structure in any North American Chinatown. While the overall structure of the building was fairly commonplace for the time, it was marked with two massive pagoda towers to frame it. The On Leong Association allowed the
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) is a historical Chinese association established in various parts of the United States and Canada with large Overseas Chinese communities. The association's clientele were Chinese immigrants ...
to put its headquarters in the new building and also used it as an immigrant assistance center, a school, a shrine, a meeting hall, and office space for the Association itself. It was often informally referred to as Chinatown's "city hall". Economically, by the 1930s, a large portion of Chinese businesses in the new Chinatown were large grocery stores stocking imported goods. Through transnational associations, these initial Chinese-owned stores substantiated a strong link between Chicago's Chinatown, other Chinatowns in the United States, and even East Asia itself. For example, the Moy-owned Hip Lung Yee Kee company on Wentworth Avenue facilitated communication between associations in San Francisco, Chicago, and Hong Kong. The grocery stores in Chinatown at this time also had a very important role locally. They employed over six hundred Chinese locals, and they functioned as hotels and banks as well. Otherwise, Chinese restaurants were supremely important to the economy of Chinatown in this period. By 1930, there were at least eleven restaurants located in the new Chinatown. Often, these restaurants were places of fine dining, and, because of this, they also acted as gathering places to connect Chinatown’s elites with the elites of Chicago in general. For example, Mong Long Fo's restaurant was the site of a publicized meeting between two members of the Moy clan and three of Chicago's white elite. Overall, however, the economic situation for many Chinese people in the new Chinatown remained the same as in the old Chinatown. The majority of Chinatown's residents were poorly-educated immigrants who made their livings through low-skill, manual labor or through restaurant-related work. In turn, the wealthy merchant families still wielded immense power in the area, with the Moys wielding the most. Numerous important buildings and structures in Chinatown arose in the area during this early period. The Canal Street railroad bridge, built in 1914, remains a tall vertical structure in the backdrop of Chinatown. The Hung Mun building in Chicago was and is still inhabited by the Chicago branch of the Hung Mun Association. While it only occupied the building starting in the 1920s, the local branch of the association played an active role in the
1911 revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
that founded the Chinese Republic. The Won Kow Building was built from 1926–1927 by the same architects that designed the On Leong Merchant Association Building. As can be expected, it shares many of the same design characteristics as the former building, and it has since housed a restaurant in the building that is the oldest restaurant in Chinatown. Finally, reflecting the prominence of the Moy clan once again, the Moy Association Building still stands as one of the more impressive and beautiful buildings in Chinatown. It was originally built in 1928 and added onto in 1932. Like the On Leong Merchant Association Building and the Won Kow Building, the Moy Association building was designed by Michaelsen and Rognstad.


Post-World War II Chinatown

Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Chicago's Chinatown remained a largely insulated enclave, with little of the racial mixing seen in cities such as New York City. The residents only grew closer together from the war as they collectively united against fascism. However, this unity increasingly became frayed in the years that followed. The influx of refugees and educated Chinese people into Chicago dramatically changed the importance of Chinatown to Chicago's Chinese residents. Instead of living and working in Chinatown, many newcomers decided to move to the suburbs. Further, as Chinese immigration came to be more accepted following the passing of the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, was a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The ...
, young, educated Chinese Americans began to take a greater role in Chinatown, clashing with the old family associations. In an effort to improve connectivity between Chinese residents throughout the city, construction began on the Chinatown Gateway in 1975, meant to act as a symbol of unity and encourage greater cultural exchange between Chinese communities. During the late 1980s, a group of Chinatown business leaders bought of property north of Archer Avenue from the
Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...
and built Chinatown Square, a two-level mall consisting of restaurants, beauty salons and law offices, flanked by 21 new townhouses. Additional residential construction, such as the Santa Fe Gardens, a 600-unit village of townhouses, condominiums and single-family homes was developed on formerly industrial land to the north. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the new addition was the creation of Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1999; located on the bank of the
Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
, the park features a Chinese-style pavilion that many consider to be the most beautiful in the Midwest.


Commerce

Chicago's Chinatown is home to a number of banks,
Chinese restaurants A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora, though other Chinese regional cuisine, regional cuisin ...
, gift shops, grocery stores,
Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or ...
stores, as well as a number of services that cater to people interested in Chinese culture, including those speaking
varieties of Chinese There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the m ...
, especially
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
. It is a community hub for Chinese people in the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...
, a business center for Chinese people in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
, as well as a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.


Demographics

In 1990, about 10,000 Chinese people lived in Chinatown's business district and the area south of 26th Street; several
Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
still remained in the neighborhood. , about 8,000 people lived within Chinatown itself, and 90% were ethnic Chinese. As of that year, many of the residents were elderly. In 2010, about 16,325 people lived within Chinatown. As opposed to Chinatown communities in major cities like New York and San Francisco, which have suffered from gentrification, Chicago's Chinatown has maintained healthy growth, with the 60608, 60609, and 60616 zip codes continually seeing increases in the population of residents identifying as Asian alone.


Landmarks and attractions

* Chinatown Mural, a
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
showing the history of Chinese immigrants in United States * Chinatown Square, Shopping area opened in 1993. Decorated with sculptures of animals in the
Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...
* Wentworth Avenue, with shopping, restaurants, and landmarks, including the Chinatown Gate * Pui Tak Center was designated a
Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
on December 1, 1993. It was the On Leong Merchants Association Building. * Chinese American Museum of Chicago, conducts research and exhibits objects and pictures relating to the history of Chinese people in the American Midwest. The museum experienced a fire on September 19, 2008, and was temporarily closed. Thanks to strong community support, it reopened in the fall of 2010 with improved facilities. * Ping Tom Memorial Park, Opened in 1999 with
Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Emperor of China, Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and t ...
s on the northern edge of Chinatown along the
Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
*
Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, un ...
Engine 8 Company firehouse, firehouse used in the 1991
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...
film
Backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...
* Chinatown Gate, which spans Wentworth Avenue at the intersection of Cermak Road, designed by Peter Fung *Moy Association Building, built in 1928 and added onto in 1932.


Government and infrastructure

The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Chinatown Post Office at 2345 South Wentworth Avenue.


Education


Primary and secondary schools

Residents are zoned to schools in the
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
including John C. Haines School () and Phillips Academy High School. Haines, which had its current facility built in 1994, serves students from Chinatown and formerly from the Harold L. Ickes Homes; students from the latter used a tunnel to get to school. 70% of the students were Asian while 28% were black; most residents of Ickes were black. Connie Laureman of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' stated that Haines, in 1990, was "crowded and dilapidated". Until Gandy Easton became principal in 1990, the school had de facto racial segregation as ethnic Chinese students stayed in a bilingual program while black students took regular classes. Easton combined the two levels together, despite protests from ethnic Chinese parents. By 2001 school authorities instituted programs to combat racism and ensure Chinese and black students socialized with one another. The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeast Illinois, Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and e ...
supports the St. Therese Chinese Catholic School (), a K-8 private Catholic school, which has one of its two campuses in Chinatown. It was established in 1941. In 1990, almost all of the students were ethnic Chinese. The Pui Tak Christian School () is a private pre-kindergarten to 8th grade school.


Public libraries

The
Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...
operates the Chinatown Library at 2100 South Wentworth Avenue.


Culture

A 1942 article from the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' stated that the strong family ties among the residents of Chinatown meant that there was little
juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...
present in the community. Chicago Chinatown celebrates the founding of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
with the Double Ten Parade, which includes
lion dance Lion dance ( zh, s=舞狮, t=舞獅, p=wǔshī, c=, first=t) is a form of traditional dance in Culture of China, Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a Asiatic lion, lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good l ...
s and much display of the
flag of Taiwan The flag of the Republic of China, commonly called the flag of Taiwan, consists of a red field with a blue Canton (flag), canton bearing a white disk surrounded by Dodecagram, twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of lig ...
. Chicago Chinatown also celebrates the
National Day of the People's Republic of China National Day ( zh, s=国庆节, t=, p=guóqìng jié, l=national celebration day, links=yes), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China (), is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on 1 October as the national da ...
with members of the PRC
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
.


Transportation

The Dan Ryan Expressway and the
Stevenson Expressway Stevenson is an English language patronymic surname meaning "son of Steven". Its first historical record is from pre-10th-century England. Another origin of the name is as a toponymic surname related to the place Stevenstone in Devon, England. Th ...
intersect over the southside of Chinatown. The Stevenson's exit 293A (northbound exit and southbound entrances) gives Chinatown commuters immediate access to the expressways via
Cermak Road Cermak Road, also known as 22nd Street, is a 19-mile, major east–west street on Chicago's near south and west sides and the city's western suburbs. In Chicago's street numbering system, Cermak is 2200 south, or twenty-two blocks south of the ...
, only one block east of Wentworth Avenue. There is metered street parking throughout the area, as well as two pay
parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...
s located on Wentworth Avenue. Several forms of
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
are also available in Chinatown. The
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
operates both an
elevated train An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks). The rai ...
and four bus routes that service the area. The Red Line, the CTA's busiest transit route, stops 24/7 at the Cermak–Chinatown station located in the heart of Chinatown near the corner of Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue. Running north–south, the #24 bus route runs on Wentworth Avenue on the eastside of Chinatown, while the #44 route runs on Canal Street on the westside. The #21 runs east–west on Cermak Road, and the #62 runs southwest–northeast on Archer Avenue. There is a
taxicab stand A taxicab stand (also called taxi rank, cab stand, taxi stand, cab rank, or hack stand) is a queue area on a street or on private property where taxicabs line up to wait for passengers. Operation Stands are normally located at high-traffic l ...
on Wentworth Avenue, and a
water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...
service also runs along the
Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
from Michigan Avenue to Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown during the summer months.


Annual events


Chinatown 5K

Lunar New Year Parade

Dragon Boat Races

Chinatown Summer Fair

Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Tours


See also

* Chinese People in Chicago


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * *


External links


Chicago Chinese American Historical SocietyChinese–American Museum of ChicagoChicago Chinatown Chamber of CommerceJohn C. Haines Elementary School
– K-8 school of Chicago's Chinatown
Explore Chicago Collections
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Chicago South Side, Chicago Asian-American culture in Chicago Chinese-American culture in Illinois
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Populated places established in 1912 1912 establishments in Illinois Tourist attractions in Chicago Armour Square, Chicago