Chinatown in Boston
Monday, 4 March 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika General , Bon appétit , Shopping
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Paifang gate © Ingfbruno/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Chinatown, Boston is a
neighborhood located in
downtown Boston ,
Massachusetts . It is the only surviving historic
ethnic Chinese enclave in
New England since the demise of the
Chinatowns in
Providence, Rhode Island and
Portland, Maine after the 1950s. Because of the high population of Asians and
Asian Americans living in this area of Boston, there is an abundance of
Chinese and
Vietnamese restaurants located in Chinatown. It is one of the most densely populated residential areas in Boston and serves as the largest center of its
East Asian and
Southeast Asian cultural life.
Chinatown borders the Boston Common , Downtown Crossing , the Washington Street Theatre District , Bay Village , the South End , and the Southeast Expressway /Massachusetts Turnpike . Boston’s Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns outside of New York City .Fujianese immigrant population lives in Boston; therefore, Fuzhou cuisine is readily available in Boston. The Vietnamese population has also influenced the cuisine. Innovative dishes incorporating chow mein and chop suey as well as farm-to-table produce and regionally procured seafood ingredients are found in Chinese as well as non-Chinese food in and around Boston.
Empire Garden, the former Globe Theatre © flickr.com - Stephen Kennedy/cc-by-2.0
Chinatown remains a center of
Asian American life in
New England , hosting many
Chinese and
Vietnamese restaurants and markets. Chinatown is one of Boston’s most densely populated residential districts, with over 28,000 people per
square mile in the year 2000. Nearly 70% of Chinatown’s population is Asian, compared with Boston’s nine percent of Asian Americans overall. Chinatown has a median household income of
$ 14,289.
The traditional Chinatown Gate (
paifang ) with a
foo lion on each side is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Surface Road. This was once a run-down area, housing little more than a ventilation-fan building for the
Central Artery Tunnel ; however, a garden was constructed at this site as part of the
Big Dig project. The Gate is visible from the
South Station Bus Terminal, and is a popular tourist destination and photo opportunity. Offered by the Taiwanese government to the City in 1982, the gate is engraved with two writings in Chinese:
Tian Xia Wei Gong , a saying attributed to Sun Yat-sen that translates as “everything under the sky is for the people”, and
Li Yi Lian Chi , the four societal bonds of propriety,
justice , integrity, and honor.
A new
satellite Chinatown has emerged on Hancock Street in the neighboring city of
Quincy , about 10 miles (16 km) to the south of the original Chinatown. This is due to a rapid influx of
Hokkien -speaking
Mainland Chinese immigrants from the province of
Fujian , as well as a large and growing
ethnic Vietnamese population. There are already several large
Asian supermarkets such as the Kam Man Foods and
Super 88 supermarket chains, and other businesses that are competing with Boston’s Chinatown. Several businesses operating in Chinatown now have branches in Quincy. The
MBTA Red Line connects via either
South Station or
Downtown Crossing near Boston’s Chinatown, to three rapid transit stations in Quincy, including
Quincy Center station. A similar, but much smaller, enclave has developed in
Malden to the north of Boston.
Malden Center station is directly connected via the MBTA
Orange Line to
Chinatown station, in the original Chinatown.
Read more on
Chinatown Main Street ,
Wikivoyage Chinatown Boston and
Wikipedia Chinatown Boston (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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