Chinatown

Chinatown has been edging in on Little Italy, the Lower East Side, and all of it’s neighbors for quite some time now. With the largest congregation of Chinese-Americans in the country, this place certainly has not lost the flavor of its inhabitants.

Originally, Chinatown was made up of only 6 blocks, but now stretches all the way to the East River, west to Tribeca and to the ever-changing boundaries both north and south. Chinatown is a hotbed of cultural activity all year; late January marks the Chinese New Year festival, a raucous street fair formerly popularized with the addition of that traditional Chinese invention—fireworks. These crackling components are banned nowadays, but you can still bring your sparklers if you promise to keep them in the air and out of the flesh of fellow onlookers.

Shifting rules in Chinatown apply not only to holiday diversions, but to the main streets as well. Mott Street, the old standby of Chinatown culture, has now been sucked in its northern reaches into the artsty boundaries of Nolita, while the rush of Chinatown’s activity can be found farther south on the Bowery and East Broadway. East Broadway especially is a hum of Chinese speaking and looking activity, from the fresh fish markets to the variety stores selling every kind of dry good imaginable.

You won’t easily find a glut of nightclubs in Chinatown, the search is something you’d best go about finding by brushing up on your Chinese or having a fluent and smooth-talking guide. Leisure activities of this jet set are more along the lines of daily tai chi in Sarah D. Roosevelt Park or power shopping in crowded markets. Residents like hanging out at the new bar FUN, on Madison and Market Streets—a great little spot to relax and socialize after stuffing your face with delicious, genuine Chinatown grub. There are a million places to try, and it’s not always best to blindly follow what the guidebooks tell you. Check the side streets around the main tourist blocks (mostly on Mott Street), and don’t be afraid to try something a little out of the way...