Chinatown, Anywhere
Chinese immigrants helped give reggae its start in Kingston, Jamaica. They brought chowmein to Calcutta, India, “became black” in South Africa, and are remaking fast fashion in Prato, Italy.
Today 40 million people of Chinese descent live outside China. Collectively, they represent the largest diaspora in the world.
Stories by Country
Subscribe to the ChinatownStories blog
Latest Headlines
-
Leave the Gun. Take the… Egg Rolls?
Prato, Italy. It's a classic Chinese immigrant story in many ways. Except for the whole mafia / sweatshop labor / human trafficking / prostitution / tax evasion thing. -
Going Door to Door in Chinatown, Zambia
Who are the Chinese migrants in Zambia? Why did they venture to Africa? And what are their lives like today? Q&A with ethnographer Solange Guo Chatelard. -
The Last Chinese School in Calcutta
My visit to Calcutta's Pei May Chinese high school. Where were all the students? And why have so many of the city's Chinese leather tanners left India for Toronto? -
How Hard Is It to Immigrate to the U.S.?
True or False: Anybody can immigrate to the U.S. legally if they want to. Plus: Why don't illegal immigrants just get on the line to be legal? -
Fung Wah: My, How You’ve Grown
Back in college, we heard rumors that the Chinatown buses were fronts for Chinese gangs. But no one cared; it was cheap as hell and that's what mattered. -
Priced Out of New York’s Chinatown
Why does New York's Chinatown feel emptier these days? Why do immigrants live in Florida or Ohio and commute back to NYC on weekends? -
The Chinatown Shuttle: Better Than New York’s Subway
What's the fastest, cheapest way to get from Flushing in Queens to Sunset Park in Brooklyn? Plus: Meet Mr. Deng, my seatmate on the Chinatown Shuttle -
Back in Action
Hi all, apologies for the radio silence in May! Expect to see upcoming posts from me about going to a Vietnamese-Chinese wedding in southern California, taking the Chinatown bus to Boston, exploring Sunset Park in Brooklyn, and interviewing a scholar-adventurer about the Chinese in Zambia. -
Jakarta, Day 14: Siska’s Story from the Indonesian Riots
"Our school was burned down. All of it. Every time I tell the story, my heart beats so fast. People were running everywhere..." -
Jakarta, Day 10: Going Local on a Moped
Every time we rode over a speed bump, I worried I'd lose my balance and crack my head open on the asphalt. "Yes, I'm a little bit scared!" I shouted back to Kiki over the drone of the engine.
