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I would have to go with SF.... I had the most authentic food there. I love NYCs chinatowns and Flushing even more. I just think that SF has this one on us.
North American cities with the best/most vibrant Chinatowns?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Backstrom
When referring to Chinatowns, I am referring to the historical inner-city urban districts which were settled in by immigrants, not suburban "new" Chinatowns, i.e., Richmond BC, SGV in California...
Make your case and post pictures if desired. Don't come up with some BS list saying that 'X' chinatown is the best because it has so many more square blocks than 'Y' chinatown.
North American cities - well that leaves out the one here in the land of the LuLu where someone is getting kill at least once a month..
Uh, nobody mentioned Brooklyn? Sunset Park in Brooklyn has a huge and very busy Chinatown. I would say it's larger than the Manhattan and SF Chinatowns nowadays.
Just go to 8th Avenue from about 45th-65 streets (take the N train to 8th Ave.). The sidewalks are as busy as Canal Street nowadays. Nobody believes me when I say it's as busy as Manhattan Chinatown, but when they visit, they are shocked.
Oh, and they are now building condo highrises. There are a half-dozen Chinese condo highrises u/c.
Really man? You got my interest piqued. Gotta go to Brooklyn one of these days and check Sunset Park out.
EDIT: From just getting a basic, first-cut idea from the Google Maps' street view capability, Sunset Park certainly LOOKS more impressive than SF's and may be close to Manhattan's level in terms of vibrancy. Compared to the NYC Chinatowns, however prettier, SF's doesn't look that vibrant on this, not even Stockton nor Grant streets...
Really man? You got my interest piqued. Gotta go to Brooklyn one of these days and check Sunset Park out.
EDIT: From just getting a basic, first-cut idea from the Google Maps' street view capability, Sunset Park certainly LOOKS more impressive than SF's and may be close to Manhattan's level in terms of vibrancy. Compared to the NYC Chinatowns, however stylistic, SF's doesn't look that vibrant on this, not even Stockton nor Grant streets...
No one who has been there would say that. Google Street View can be misleading. Ive been to the Manhattan Chinatown. At least during the day, it doesnt feel as crowded or vibrant as SF Chinatown (mostly due to the super narrow streets in SF Chinatown)
SF Chinatown is often so packed there is no room to walk on the sidewalk. Here is random pics of a normal day (if anything, this is pretty slow):
By the way, I just checked out the Streetview pics of SF Chinatown. I have NEVER seen it that empty before and I have been there dozens of times. I'm not sure if these were very early-morning pics or what, but that is very unrepresentative of the vibrancy of that area.
I have been too New York's, Boston's, Washington's, Philadelphia's, Pittsburgh's old China town section, Denver's Federal Street strip mall area, and thats about it.
I don't consider strip malls with Chinese restaurants "China Town". Sorry Charlotte, Denver, and others, You don't have a china town.
I have been to San Fran, but not it's China town, so it is hard to compare with New York. But so far, New York would obviously win, but then again, I never been to San Fran's. I liked Boston's, and it was the first China Town I was ever in. Washintons's didn't feel like a Chinatown. They had the Chinatown enterance, but no real chinatown.
I've never been to San Francisco's Chinatown but parts of Manhattan's Chinatown really looks like China. Flushing's Chinatown looks like you've been dropped off in another country, It was so crowded, I remember seeing mostly Asians, I couldn't read anything, the only thing NYC that you see is the beat up "Chugga-Boom" buses and that's about it.
By the way, I just checked out the Streetview pics of SF Chinatown. I have NEVER seen it that empty before and I have been there dozens of times. I'm not sure if these were very early-morning pics or what, but that is very unrepresentative of the vibrancy of that area.
You need to visit Manhattan Chinatown dozens of times too.. And not just during the wintertime. :P
I understand that the google street view pics may not be representative, but knowing what I know about the relative population densities between the two places, I find it really doubtful that SF Chinatown has more foot traffic than Manhattan's Chinatown (or even Flushing's now).
The pics you just showed of SF Chinatown, although busy, look somewhat sparse by Canal Street standards.
As I mentioned in another thread, narrow streets are often misleading as they often make places feel more crowded/dense than they actually are. You want more accuracy, COUNT the people. lol (And Manhattan Chinatown sidewalks are narrow, although SF's may be more so). Look at how packed these sidewalks are and these are on WIDER streets...
I have been too New York's, Boston's, Washington's, Philadelphia's, Pittsburgh's old China town section, Denver's Federal Street strip mall area, and thats about it.
I don't consider strip malls with Chinese restaurants "China Town". Sorry Charlotte, Denver, and others, You don't have a china town.
I have been to San Fran, but not it's China town, so it is hard to compare with New York. But so far, New York would obviously win, but then again, I never been to San Fran's. I liked Boston's, and it was the first China Town I was ever in. Washintons's didn't feel like a Chinatown. They had the Chinatown enterance, but no real chinatown.
and who are you to make that decision???
A Chinatown dosen't have to be dense and walkable, so sorry but your not of any power to make that claim.
A Chinatown dosen't have to be dense and walkable, so sorry but your not of any power to make that claim.
I usually think of Chinatown as an urban neighborhood too. In my opinion Chinatowns are supposed to be dense and walkable, with street vendors and street life that is reminiscent of an Asian city...not a Wal-Mart strip mall with Chinese letters instead of English ones. There's nothing different about that. It's just another ugly suburban development.
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North American cities with the best/most vibrant Chinatowns?
