The legacy of San Francisco's Chinatown
For decades generations of Chinese immigrants have called San Francisco's Chinatown home, and thousands of new immigrants still come here every year hoping to find something better in America.
Chinese people are the best educated foreign-born group in the United States and many immigrants arriving here today see America more as a starting point than the finish line.
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With other countries catching up fast and offering valid job opportunities, do you think America will become a destination mainly for academics?
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Comment number 1.
At 20th Jul 2010, Matt wrote:cool piece, i'll be looking forward to your upcoming video blogs. Check out Oakland's Chinatown if you get a chance.
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Comment number 2.
At 20th Jul 2010, mikeparkyn wrote:Chinatown in SF is a cool place. I moved to the bay area from England 2 years ago and work in SF, a few minutes walk from chinatown. I love its authenticity - I'm glad it still has appeal. If people come here from China and move on, that's cool. It doesn't detract from the place - it helps shape its identity and value
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Comment number 3.
At 20th Jul 2010, ChunZhu wrote:I'm a Chinese-American in the Bay Area, but I grew up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood rather than one of the Chinatowns. While there are still many Chinese who live in SF and Oakland Chinatown, there are new Chinese neighborhoods growing everywhere. The Silicon Valley has become one of the major destinations of Chinese immigrants, as well as the suburbs of Los Angeles. And what city in American doesn't have at least one Chinese restaurant? With 1.3+ billion Chinese in the world, Chinatowns just aren't big enough anymore.
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Comment number 4.
At 28th Jul 2010, Franz Strasser wrote:@Matt and @mikeparkyn: Thanks for your comments!
@ChunZhu: Thank you for telling your story. That was part of the story that fascinated me - what happens to the old Chinatowns when new ones are created everywhere?
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Comment number 5.
At 8th Feb 2011, Richard Ure wrote:Franz,
If the experience in Sydney Australia is anything to go by, the Chinatown grows to overtake neighbouring city blocks, then the Australian Chinese move out into the suburbs where they live wherever the schools are better. On weekends and after hours they travel back to the expanded original Chinatown to eat at the restaurants and behave like all the other tourists, Remember the White Australia policy was only abolished less than 50 years ago and now Chinese people are to be found living in most Sydney suburbs.
When I was young Chinatown was very small and peopled by the descendants of the gold rush in the 1850s.
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