There are actually 3 Chinatowns in New York City. There is one in lower Manhattan, another in Queens and another in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Chinatown and Queens Chinatown are quiet residential areas, while the Manhattan Chinatown is a vibrant and busy tourist area. Regardless of which Chinatown you go to, there are always plenty of celebrations and parades during the Chinese New Year.
New York City’s Chinatown Manhattan is the largest Chinatown in all of North America. It is the city’s most popular ethnic area, visited by millions of tourists each year. Manhattan’s Chinatown is also one of the oldest Chinese enclaves outside of Asia. There are many words to describe the Chinatown in Manhattan. Some of the words include: busy, interesting, historic, and dirty (although there has been a recent push to clean up Chinatown in recent years). The Manhattan Chinatown is also quite touristy and filled with tourist traps. In general, everything is quite inexpensive. You will also find various restaurants that feature Chinese-American cooking. (which can be defined as Chinese cooking geared towards American tastes). Along with Chinese restaurants, you will find other Asian restaurants ranging from Huan, Cantonese and Vietnamese to name a few. This Chinatown is the largest Chinese enclave in North America. It is bordered by Chambers Street to the South, East River to the East, Broadway to the West, and Canal Street to the North. The two main streets in are Canal Street and Mott Street.
The Chinatown in Queens a less touristy feel to it and caters less to tourists. The food served at the Queens Chinatown is the food that most of Americans consider exotic. Here, you will be able to find more authentic Asian cuisine in the various Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian and Vietnamese restaurants. You can also easily find stores selling imported furniture, books, DVDS, CDS, art and jewelry, from the native lands. This is quite different from what you would find in Manhattan’s Chinatown, since most of the customers are from the native lands.
You will find very cheap Asian cuisine, souvenirs and clothing in Chinatown, particularly on Canal Street. Chinatown features many jewelry shops on Canal Street along with various Asian restaurants. In fact, there are over 200 Chinese restaurants located in Chinatown.
Canal Street is the heart and the soul of NYC’s Chinatown. This busy street is serviced by various subway lines, including the J, M, Z, N, R, 6, Q, and W. Canal street is often crowded with tourists and locals alike during the day and stays busy till around 9p.m.
