2. History of Chinatown
● The History of Chinatown began with the surge of
Chinese immigrants that came to Chicago around the
1860’s to help build the transcontinental railroad.
(recruited about 80% of workers) As immigration
laws became stricter, more flooded into Chicago to
find stable working conditions in the populous city.
● The very first Chinese community was build by Van
Buren and Clark Streets, but later moved.
● T C Moy was said to be the first Chinese settler to
actually settle in Chinatown, he was also responsible
for spreading word to family members, relatives, and
neighbors about Chicago's opportunities
encouraging them all to seek less racist living
conditions. He recruited more than 80 members of
the Chinese community to join him.
● In 1905 when living conditions for Chinese worsened
in China, and the stereotypes increased for them in
Chicago, the Chinese were forced into a corner,
specifically a block located on Cermak Rd and
Wentworth Ave, that would later become
“Chinatown”
3. Demographics
● population: 7,377
● 0.454 square miles
● the main race is Asian
● 16,250 people per square mile
● $32,545 median household income
● ratio of males to females 3,516: 3,861
● 33.6% of population below poverty level
4. Tourist Sites
Ping Tom Memorial Park
Ping Tom Memorial park is is a 12 acre located
on the south bank of the Chicago River. The
park is named after Ping Tom a prominent civic
leader.It is inspired by a traditional Chinese walled
garden.
Autumn Moon Festival
The Autumn Moon Festival is a large family
friendly festival. The festival is celebrated on the
15th of the 8th lunar month. This is a very
important tradition. The festival is full of booths with
with goods there are also cultural activities. You can e
even enjoy a moon cake as well as other traditional dishes.
Nine Dragon Wall
The nine dragon wall is found across the Chinatown gate. It is modeled after a wall in BeiHai, Beijing. It has over 500
red, blue, and gold dragons representing good fortune.This wall is one of three replicas outside of China.
5. Public Transit
● Cermak-Chinatown
(CTA Red line)
● Cermak (CTA Bus -
#21)
● Wentworth (CTA
Bus - #24)
6. Joy Yee’s Noodles
● Joy Yee’s Noodles opened in
Chinatown in 1996
● Offers a wide variety of asian dishes
o Pad Tai, Shrimp Tempura,
Kimchi, etc.
● First to sell Bubble Tea in the
midwest
o Bubble Tea: Either a fruit freeze
or tea mixed in with tapioca
pearls
o Comes in many flavors, like
Mango Freeze and Thai Iced
Tea
8. Works Cited
● History of Chinatown: CASL. "History." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.chicago-chinatown.com/cgi-bin/
view.cgi?li=6>.
● Tourism: Landmarks & Tourism. (n.d.). Chicago Chinatown Chamber. Retrieved October 23, 2014, from
http://chicagochinatown.org/resources-landmarks-tourism/
● What is Moon Festival?. (n.d.). Moon Festival Chicago. Retrieved October 23, 2014, from
http://www.moonfestchicago.com/intro.html
