The rise of China has created a new kind of Chinatown

Chinatowns aren’t what they used to be. A newer, more modern version of them is emerging across the English-speaking world. These new Chinese settlements have established themselves in New York, Sydney, LA, Melbourne, Vancouver, Toronto, and beyond.

Historically, old Chinatowns were urban and almost exclusively settled by low-skilled laborers. Settling in one those old Chinatowns was a necessity, not a choice. Racist host countries were happy to relegate immigrants to segregated ghettos, and sticking together offered safety in numbers.

This story was originally published on September 25, 2019.
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REPORTER
Nikhil Sonnad
Tony Lin

PRODUCER
Tony Lin

EDITOR
Eduardo Araújo

ANIMATION
John McColgan

CAMERA
Tony Lin
Jia Li
Molly Rubin
Zhongda Wang

ART DIRECTOR
Arielle Ray

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Molly Rubin

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jacob Templin


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[macberry]

The dream was a melting pot, instead we have a dinner plate where sometimes the potatoes touch the corn but everything stays in it's section

[futuro]

At some point, you could consider traveling the ACTUAL WORLD. These shows always talk about "the world" and then visit only white western countries, never Africa, never Latin America, etc. There are china towns in many other places too. So next time you use the term "all over the world" maybe actually do that for once.

[Zergcerebrates]

The best Chinatown I've ever visited is the one in Sydney. It is modern, clean, and huge. Lots of choices, shops, stores, markets and some other Asian businesses in the mix. Its easily accessible with the new streetcar(tram) and trains. The old China Town is there too and it's still cleaner and better than any Chinatown in North America.

[kevinmeng]

Flushing is probably what China would look like if there was no urban planning, which is messier but more culturally authentic and has a more distinct Chinese feel.

[GyacoYu]

BTW the video is extremely offensive when claiming those Chinese businesses serve "almost exclusively to Chinese". I've never seen any of them rejecting any racial group here and also Flushing has a great number of Koreans and Vietnamese.

[薯芋]

Crazy rich asians? They've been in your neighborhood for decades

[travelwithtyler]

I grew up just outside Markham, Canada (one of the Ethno-burbs mentioned), and it’s a suburb that has a distinct Chinese-Canadian culture, and does not “look like” China. Many businesses have Chinese lettering, but the feel of the community is definitely Canadian with a Chinese twist. Amazing video; great to see this topic covered so well!

[lctransit]

Flushing is not just composed of EB (employment-based) Immigrants and billionaires, there are quite a lot of people with lower assets and skills (mainly from Fuzhou) who moved there through seeking political asylum or family unification formed the significant amount of working-class Chinese population in the area...btw, the Fuzhou immigrant topic is politically sensitive to discuss in both China and the US

[Blaze]

Why are Chinese Nationals allowed to buy property in the US and Canada if their country doesn't allow the same privaledge for our own citizens?

[spiwdnl]

Um, I would say more accurate depiction of today's Chinese immigrants would be the big LA community, Arcadia, or further down in Irvine.

[tidusfantasy]

Those who live in chinatown were 3rd or 4th or even 5th generations chinese immigrants...Buildings r old and have the classic chinatown style.

THose people living in Flushing, Markham, Richmond, are decently wealthy and want to live in new condos and houses.. they r usually 1st or 2nd gen chinese immigrant.


Fun fact, people from Chinatowns and EthnoBurbs dont really mingle.
U ask those who live in CHina when was the last time they went to those ethnoburbs, they cant recall
U ask those who live in ethnoburbs when was the last time they went to china town, they cant recall

[randomdumpchannel]

The future from shows or movies like Firefly or Bladerunner is looking less and less like fiction as time goes on. Kinda makes me think everyone years ago already knew where we were headed. I don't think I care either way. We're all human, in the end, while we complain and bicker about other people, its artificial intelligence and automation that will be our undoing. On the brightside, perhaps our creations will be the best of what we were.

[dotdotdotdotdotdotdottod]

i love how they say "taking over cities" around the world as if the west didnt "take over" and colonised the world itself

[vitocorleone]

I dunno
I feel that the Chinatown in America continent are more Chinese than the China. This Chinatown have more chinese culture feel than China. It feel like home. I feel moving to America.

[digitalyume]

Recent immigrants may just want to create a place of familiarity or safe community for them to settle in. They want to mingle and be a part of their new society but racism is still a major issue. Being told by ignorant racists to "go back to ___" is hurtful.

[kennylin]

Lol most of the fancy stuff in China town doesn’t even come from China. Most upscale bubble tea place and new hip resturants are by Taiwanese or HK

[sarcasmo]

As a non-Chinese person I'm not allowed to go and settle in that country.

[awc]

New York Chinatown is old, and while Flushing is better, they aren't really all shiny new either. Most of the immigrants from China to US are of working class. New type of Chinatown are not really found in US but in Canada, specifically in cities like Vancouver and Toronto (Markham) where you no longer just have working class immigrants but the rich immigrant who got their visa via business requirements before that program ended (which required them to have a net worth of at least $1.6 million).

[henryli]

I am a Chinese. For me, the Chinatown in NYC, is the Manhattan one.

[jal]

Flushing doesn't even look close to today's China. Has the reporter ever travel outside of US?