Chinatown is a neighborhood in Central Philadelphia. The area spans from Arch Street to Vine Street and from 8th Street to 11th Street. In the 1840s, Chinese immigrants came to the United States to escape the unstable politics and economic hardship of their country. The majority of these immigrants settled in cities like Philadelphia, where they encountered racism and oppression. Similar to other Chinatowns across the country, Philadelphia’s Chinatown began as a poor neighborhood where the Chinese immigrants gathered together. After the Japanese atrocities of the 1930s and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, American discrimination against the Chinese was transferred to the Japanese. This created opportunity for growth in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. More families arrived, churches and other cultural centers were established, and community organizations were founded. In the 1960s, buildings in Chinatown were torn down for construction of Market East, the Vine Street Expressway, and the Convention Center. This destruction prompted the “Save Chinatown” movement and inspired the creation of Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Today Chinatown is home for 10,000 Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese people who remain committed to their cultures and their city within a city.

RESOURCES

Philly China Town

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania on Chinatown

Wikipedia on Chinatown