Chinatown Essay example -- China Culture Cultural Essays

Chinatown A bus pulls up to its stop on College Boulevard and passengers stream out. Cars are flowing steadily through the streets as I stand perfectly still on the street corner in an attempt to greedily absorb the smells, sights, and sounds. The green hand shaped light appears and I proceed to cross the street with an increasing sense of discovery. There were signs everywhere; mostly in Chinese characters. Some of the signs in English read: Dim Sum Lunch $3.50, English Books about Chinese Herbs, China Kung Fu Acupuncture Treatment Center and Chinatown 2002. Looking at people walking along the sidewalks, the restaurants, bakeries, auto-repair shops and bookstores, I get the distinct impression that this is a place of great importance in almost every imaginable context. What saddens me is that I also understand how ill equipped I am to understand the magnitude of its import. In an effort to gain a rudimentary understanding of what Chinatown represents from a cultural, social, political and historical context, we will examine the historical background of the area, basic geographical data, contemporary situation and a few of the major issues facing this community. Chinatown first began in an area know as Sonoratown, where the notorious street Callae de los Negros (, named for the dark deeds committed there and the individuals who committed them,) was located. By 1870, it is estimated that about 200 Chinese laborers, servants, road-builders, and small shopkeepers shared the block long area located near the plaza in El Pueblo with gamblers, drifters, and outlaws. (Rasmussen: 4). Despite their important contributions to the Southern California economy, Chinese communities were faced with anti-Chinese legislation a... ...nd rich cultural tradition. Bibliography â€Å"Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." Retrieved Oct. 6 2002. http://www.camlas.org/history.htm. Hamilton, Densise. â€Å"Immigration and Molestation Service: How the INS mistreats Refugees.† Los Angeles Times. 14 March 2002. â€Å"Map of Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles.† Retreived Oct. 6 2002. http://www.csun.edu/~hbgeg069/LA/chinatown.html. Marquez, Sandra. â€Å"California immigrants thrive where little English is spoken.† The Associated Press & Local Wire. 30 August 2002. State and Regional. Parrillo, Vincent. Strangers to These Shores. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. Rasmussen, Cecilia. â€Å"Violence, Bias Mark Chinatown’s Evolution.† Los Angeles Times. 25 November 2001, Home ed.: Page 4. Yu, George. â€Å"Open Air-Shelter Would Hurt Chinatown.† Los Angeles Times. 27 November 2001, Home ed.: Page 10. Chinatown Essay example -- China Culture Cultural Essays Chinatown A bus pulls up to its stop on College Boulevard and passengers stream out. Cars are flowing steadily through the streets as I stand perfectly still on the street corner in an attempt to greedily absorb the smells, sights, and sounds. The green hand shaped light appears and I proceed to cross the street with an increasing sense of discovery. There were signs everywhere; mostly in Chinese characters. Some of the signs in English read: Dim Sum Lunch $3.50, English Books about Chinese Herbs, China Kung Fu Acupuncture Treatment Center and Chinatown 2002. Looking at people walking along the sidewalks, the restaurants, bakeries, auto-repair shops and bookstores, I get the distinct impression that this is a place of great importance in almost every imaginable context. What saddens me is that I also understand how ill equipped I am to understand the magnitude of its import. In an effort to gain a rudimentary understanding of what Chinatown represents from a cultural, social, political and historical context, we will examine the historical background of the area, basic geographical data, contemporary situation and a few of the major issues facing this community. Chinatown first began in an area know as Sonoratown, where the notorious street Callae de los Negros (, named for the dark deeds committed there and the individuals who committed them,) was located. By 1870, it is estimated that about 200 Chinese laborers, servants, road-builders, and small shopkeepers shared the block long area located near the plaza in El Pueblo with gamblers, drifters, and outlaws. (Rasmussen: 4). Despite their important contributions to the Southern California economy, Chinese communities were faced with anti-Chinese legislation a... ...nd rich cultural tradition. Bibliography â€Å"Chinese Americans in Los Angeles." Retrieved Oct. 6 2002. http://www.camlas.org/history.htm. Hamilton, Densise. â€Å"Immigration and Molestation Service: How the INS mistreats Refugees.† Los Angeles Times. 14 March 2002. â€Å"Map of Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles.† Retreived Oct. 6 2002. http://www.csun.edu/~hbgeg069/LA/chinatown.html. Marquez, Sandra. â€Å"California immigrants thrive where little English is spoken.† The Associated Press & Local Wire. 30 August 2002. State and Regional. Parrillo, Vincent. Strangers to These Shores. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. Rasmussen, Cecilia. â€Å"Violence, Bias Mark Chinatown’s Evolution.† Los Angeles Times. 25 November 2001, Home ed.: Page 4. Yu, George. â€Å"Open Air-Shelter Would Hurt Chinatown.† Los Angeles Times. 27 November 2001, Home ed.: Page 10.