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CHINATOWNS.   Term Paper ID:26736 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines culture, environment, tourism & economy of American Chinatowns, focusing on L.A.... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 2 sources, 3 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Examines culture, environment, tourism & economy of American Chinatowns, focusing on L.A. Paper Introduction: There is a region called Chinatown in many major American cities, a region where Chinese immigrants have gathered together and opened businesses in such numbers that they have created a small version of their home in China. Such regions have a strong attraction for tourists because of the exotic nature of the food and goods sold. The best-known Chinatown may be that in Los Angeles because of its being featured in the movie Chinatown, which had little to do with Chinatown then or now. The Chinatown best known as a tourist mecca is probably that in San Francisco, a Chinatown that has been closely identified with the city for decades. The reason for the concentration of Chinese in San Francisco in particular is historical, since many Chinese were brought to California in the nineteenth century to work on the railroads. Once the railroads were built, most Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The best-known Chinatownmay be that in Los Angeles because of its being featured in the movieChinatown, which had little to do with Chinatown then or now. The pagoda-design is one that ismost closely associated with China, though the design is also found inBurma and India (Tansey and Kleiner 518). Chinatown is to the north of downtown LosAngeles. The reason for the concentration of Chinese in San Francisco inparticular is historical, since many Chinese were brought to California inthe nineteenth century to work on the railroads. Fifth Chinese Daughter. Berkeley: Nolo Press, 1993.Wong, Jade Snow. How to Get a Green Card. Many of the Chinatowns in other American cities have been patternedon the one in San Francisco as Chinese immigration has become morewidespread across the country. Many of the Chinese who work in Chinatown have either come frommainland China, have relatives still in mainland China, have relatives whocame from mainland China, or otherwise have some ties to that part of theworld. Seattle: University of Washington: 1989. For one thing, Chinatown isclearly a tourist attraction and as such has the freshly-painted andmaintained look of Disneyland or some similar theme park. The same Pacific Ocean laves the shores of both worlds, a tangible link between old and new (Wong 1). Chavez Avenue) side, more or lessacross from Olvera Street and not far from the downtown railroad stationand the main Post Office. The food shops contain packages withChinese lettering and containing foods with which most people may not befamiliar, or may not have seen outside of a Chinese restaurant. Even more Mexican is Puebla de LosAngeles, also known as Olvera Street, the oldest part of the city anddesigned to reflect the original Mexican culture. The shops contain manyChinese-designed goods, including colorful fans, scarves, holders forincense, products made from bamboo and teakwood, finely painted silks, andcarved figures of people and animals. Thecentral part of Chinatown is found in the Plaza, which includes a Chinese-arch design as an entrance. Somewhat more central to downtown Los Angeles is a Japanesevillage section called Little Tokyo, while much of downtown today has aLatin American and Mexican flavor. There is a region called Chinatown in many major American cities, aregion where Chinese immigrants have gathered together and openedbusinesses in such numbers that they have created a small version of theirhome in China. Los Angeles has several ethnic commercial neighborhoods likeChinatown, areas which recreate some elements of the external commercialstyle of different homelands. Stores selling fine silks alsoshow an important artistic aspect of Chinese culture. Many such stores line the streets just outside thePlaza, showing perhaps that they target Chinese residents more than thetourists who congregate in the Plaza. Such regions have a strong attraction for tourists becauseof the exotic nature of the food and goods sold. Such designs and colors do set the region off fromthe rest of the city and inform the visitor that he or she has passed fromAnglo Los Angeles into a different area. However, theydo provide some insight into Chinese culture in terms of the way food isprepared and served and the kinds of food. Some are more recent arrivals, while others may be second or thirdgeneration. Los Angeles's version of Chinatown is not very large, not as large asthe Chinatowns in San Francisco and New York, for instance. In this regard as well, though,the visitor cannot be certain everything is authentic. Once the railroads werebuilt, most stayed on and had to find other ways of naming a living, andthey came together in this region of San Francisco for that purpose (Lewis14). The visitor enters a different world, with shopsthat have different goods than are found in other parts of the city,buildings with a different kind of design, and many more Chinese peoplethan are usually found in other parts of the city. There are Chinese newspapers sold in Chinatown, one locally printed,and at least one imported. A visit to the region suggests certain ideas about Chineseculture because these people have brought that culture with them, havetried to evoke it in the design of the buildings, the stores they design,the goods they sell, the restaurants in the area, and other aspects ofcommerce in Chinatown. The Chinatown best known as a tourist mecca is probably that in SanFrancisco, a Chinatown that has been closely identified with the city fordecades. It is not surprising that there are many chinese restaurants in thearea, and these as well show a similar design and also sport Chineselettering and other design elements. The Mandarin Plaza entrance is a Chinese Gate with pagoda-likearches, and similar designs are seen on the roofs of many of the buildingsin Chinatown. The visitor will have a hard time sorting outwhat is truly Chinese and what is simply show for the tourists, as noted.However, the visitor will also gain a sense of some of the aesthetic,social, culinary, and commercial interests of the Chinese people, a senseof the way cities in China are traditionally laid out, and how thecommercial district functions. The architecture suggests an image of China, with the curvedroof design, the colorful paint, the overhead lines with paper lanterns,and the stores with Chinese characters displayed sometimes alongsideEnglish translations and sometimes not. This sort ofanalysis could extend toward other ethnic communities which have formed inthe major cities though few of them are as cohesive and visible as theChinese community and Chinatown. This area is also to thenorth of downtown, not as far north as Chinatown. One can approach Chinatown from the Sunset Boulevard (recentlychanged along here to West Cesar E. In the novel Fifth ChineseDaughter by Jade Snow Wong, the way in which the two cultures mix is seenin the Chinatown where the author lives: Chinatown in San Francisco teems with haunting memories, for it is wrapped in the atmosphere, customs, and manners of a land across the sea. It is difficult to decide howmuch of what one sees in Chinatown really evokes Chinese culture or only anAmericanized version of Chinese culture. The visitor who comes to theChinatown region often will get more of the flavor of Chinese culture thanthe casual visitor because there are many celebrations scheduled during theyear, with festive decorations, parades, Chinese dragons, and people inauthentic costumes. Chinese culture is certainlyrepresented in some of the more exotic shops, such as herbal shops andacupuncture facilities. However, similar restaurants arefound all over town and indeed all over the country, and these particularrestaurants are no more evocative of Chinese culture than the other Chineserestaurants would be except for their location in Chinatown. The visit to Chinatown is suggestive of what life might be like inChina but not definitive. Americans have longthought Chop Suey was an authentic Chinese dish, though in fact it wascreated in San Francisco and is not Chinese at all. The aesthetic sense of China is represented not only in thearchitecture and the decorations but also in statuary around the Plaza,such as dragons, lions, and other images. Works CitedLewis, Loida Nicolas. At the sametime, it is less crowded together than those Chinatowns, for it is markedby wide streets and a huge public square known as Mandarin Plaza. It is certainlybased on Chinese themes, such as the pagoda-like roof designs, but it isnot clear to the visitor how authentic the use of these designs may be.Another Chinese element is the color used for these buildings, somethingcommon in China: In addition to its native structural finesse, Chinese architecture can be characterized by its color. If San Francisco still stands as a majorcollection point for Chinese immigration, it is because San Francisco is anarrival point for traffic from the Far East. The presence of these newspapers adds tothe sense of visiting a Chinese enclave for the visitor who is not Chinese,though not being able to read what the newspapers say reduces what thevisitor can learn. The Chinese timber building was customarily designed to be polychromatic throughout, save for certain parts in natural color, like white marble balustrades or roof crests. The goods sold in the various retail establishments in Chinatown alsomay or may not reflect Chinese culture. Surfaces were painted or lacquered to protect the timber from rot and wood parasites, as well as to have an arresting esthetic, even spiritual, effect (Tansey and Kleiner 52 ).The esthetic element is evident in Chinatown, and the street is verycolorful as a result. At the same time, Chinatown is a tourist attractionand is geared to appeal to visitors probably more than to local Chineserestaurants. It would be interesting to know what percentageof people in the Chinese communities read the newspaper from this city andthe ones from China, what percentage of merchants advertise in the localpaper, what percentage read only the Chinese-language papers, and what thepeople themselves thought about the coverage in each. However, Chinatown proper extends along theside streets outside the Plaza. The delicacy of thework is also seen in other examples of Chinese garb, in the lettering onsigns, and in the designs on wooden boxes, flutes, lanterns, banners, andother wares. There are also specialty food shops with Chinesedelicacies most of us have never seen or even heard of before, and thesestores cater more to local Chinese customers than to the tourists whousually fill the Plaza. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.