Big Dreams of Little China

One of the many tasks I have on my bucket list is to visit every Chinatown in the United States.

As a kid, one of my favorite movies to watch was Big Trouble in Little China. The movie is about a trucker who would go up against a Chinese gang. Little does he know that he would enter a mystical realm of sorcery and magic. The movie is set in Chinatown, San Fransisco, which I have still yet to visit. This movie would inspire me to tour across the country visting every Chinatown that I could.

Growing up near Washington DC it was regularly that I would visit Chinatown, also known as Gallery Place, with my parents since it was only a metro stop away on the green line. Chinatown, Washington D.C. has become very commercialized lacking in Chinese culture. In fact, the only thing that makes it stand out from the rest of the city are the store names written in Chinese script. As I got older I became more curious about the Chinatowns in different cities, the ones I saw on television and movies. I noticed that each Chinatown that I visted had its own unique personality. While the Chinatown that I grew up and visited frequently in Washington D.C. lacked a lot of the Chinese culture that I seeked, the Chinatown in Philadelphia would flourish with Chinese, arts, food and markets down every street.

Since Philadelphia was the next closest major city, and driving distance away, Chinatown, Philadephia would be next on my list to visit. This would be the Chinatown that I would imagine. The one that would have the label "As Seen on TV."

Next on my list I visited Chinatown, Chicago: