For the early Chinese immigrants, Manhattan Chinatown was a safe haven from the racism they faced in the rest of the city. After railroad construction was finished, the Chinese workers lacked job opportunities. They were barred from other work because of a mixture of nationalism, xenophobia, and fear of competition from other groups in America. The Chinese migrated to the East Coast in the hope of being employed in factories and shipyards located there.^[1]

The incoming Chinese lived where earlier Chinese immigrants lived in Eastern Manhattan. By 1880, approximately 200 to 1,100 Chinese lived in Chinatown; however, the growth of the community soon became severely limited because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite this setback, Chinatown became an internalized, self-sufficient hub of economic and social activity. The first Chinese businessmen would provide jobs and housing to newer immigrants. Eventually, the formation of community institutions allowed the Chinese community to have a stronger role in the development of the neighborhood.^[2]

Since then, Chinatown has expanded to encompass a two square mile region, and is bordered by Kenmore and Delancey streets to the north, East and Worth streets to the south, Allen street to the east and Broadway to the west. Chinatown now has an estimated population between 70,000 and 150,000 residents.^[3]

Map of Manhattan's Chinatown
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Places in Chinatown

Parks

Libraries

Restaurants

Stores

Schools

Banks

Laundromats

Housing

Canal St. Vendors

Chinatown Buses

Other Businesses

Sounds of Chinatown
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References

1. ↑ Kinkead, Gwen. Chinatown: A Portrait of a Closed Society. New York: Harper Collins, 1992.
2. ↑ Kwong, P. and D. Miscevic. Chinese America: The Untold Story of America's Oldest New Community. New York: The New Press, 2005.
3. ↑ United States Census Bureau. Department of Commerce. Statistical Abstract of the United States: GPO 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.asiannation.org/population.shtml#ixzz0kp7wYSnZ.