Columbus Park is at the center of Chinatown, one of the oldest and most special neighborhoods in Manhattan, New York City. With an estimated population of 90,000 to 100,000 people, Manhattan's Chinatown is also one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia, with most of its residents now Mandarin, Min, or Cantonese-speaking and originating from various regions of China.
Chinatown has no officially defined borders, but they have been commonly considered to be approximated by the following streets:
Delancey Street to the north,
amalgamating with Little Italy,
Chambers Street to the south,
East Broadway to the east,
Broadway to the west (bordering TriBeCa).
Chinese immigrants began civilization in Chinatown around the middle of the eighteenth century. There were only small numbers of immigrants to start with. Moving onto the middle of the nineteenth century, even more Chinese immigrants moved to Chinatown in NY to settle with their families or to find work on the streets, for traders, or for sailors.
In 1882, The Exclusion Act was founded, which was to stop the immigration of the Chinese people who came over for freedom rather than work. The law went on to state that they forbid any naturalization by any Chinese person already in the United States, and this bars the immigration of any Chinese person not given a special work permit to work in the United States. Due to the large amount of discrimination and antagonism from the white communities, the Chinese decided to create their own societies, associations, and governments within their isolated town.
Later, once the act was lifted from Chinese immigrants, Chinatown began to increase in numbers again. They continued to expand, slowly, throughout the 1940’s and 50’s. The buildings in Chinatown today are the same buildings built throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. New York Chinatown is now home to the majority of Chinese immigrants and a key point for tourists from all over the world.
Chinese green grocers and fishmongers are clustered around Mott Street, Mulberry Street, Canal Street (by Baxter Street), and all along East Broadway (especially by Catherine Street). The Chinese jewelers' district is on Canal Street between Mott and Bowery. Canal Street, west of Broadway (especially on the North side), is filled with street vendors selling knock-off brands of perfumes, watches, and hand-bags. This section of Canal Street was previously the home of warehouse stores selling surplus/salvage electronics and hardware.
In addition, tourism and restaurants are major industries. The district boasts many historical and cultural attractions, and it is a destination for tour companies like Big Onion and NYC Chinatown Tours. Other contributors to the economy include factories. And the neighborhood is home to a number of large Chinese supermarkets.
There are many Çhinese restaurants in Chinatown, which attract people of different cultures from all over the city to come here and enjoy Chinese food. The restaurants in Chinatown vary from Hong Kong Dim-sum to Sichuan spicy food, from fancy sit-down restaurants to Chinese fast food. You can basically find everything you want here.
In most Chinese festivals, especially Lunar New Year, there would be parade and celebrations in Chinatown every year.
Chinatown’s annual Lunar New Year celebration for stunning visuals, tantalizing treats and impressive performances. This street party features all sorts of vendors, food and festivities for all ages to welcome the Year of the Horse. Walk the main streets of Lower Manhattan—from Little Italy through Chinatown—to catch a glimpse.
