Katie SalmonDevan Faris

Samantha BurnsGrant Smith

Chinatown is located in the

south side of the city.

It is centered on Cermak and

Wentworth Avenues.

Location of Chinatown

The red line was our mode of transportation to Chinatown.

Traveling from the Granville

stop to Cermak/Chinatown took approx 50 minutes.

How to get to Chinatown

The first Chinese arrived in Chicago in 1869 when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed. At first, Chinese residents started settling along Clark Street between Van Buren and Harrison Avenues in Chicago’s loop and by 1912, the Chinese living in thisarea began moving more south toArmour Square.

History

Some people say this migration was due to increasing rent prices, and others to discrimination or overcrowding. Either way, the new Chinatown was established. Today, over 16,000 people live in Chinatown. Chicago is the second oldest settlement of Chinese in America after the Chinese fled California. Many people visit Chinatown when they visit Chicago because there are good places to shop and the best Chinese food.

History

•Area: 0.454 square miles

•Population:7,377

•Median Household Income in 2011: $32,545

•Median Rent in 2011: $708

•Average Estimated Value of Detached Home in 2010: $311.852

•Percentage of Population below poverty level: 33.6%

Demographics

Demographics

Demographics

Popular Occupation held by males:

Service occupations: 45.3%

sales/office occupations: 10.9%

Financial occupations: 7.0%

Other: 36.8%

Demographics

Popular occupations held by females:

Service occupations: 21.0%

Sales/office occupations: 39.2%

Production occupations: 16.9%

Education/library: 7.4%

Other: 15.5%

Demographics

We visited the numerous animal statues that represent the Chinese zodiac years.

Devan, Katie, and Sam were born in 1996, the year of the rat.

Grant was born in 1995, the year of the pig.

The pig symbolizes honesty, simplicity,patience, loyalty, truth, fertility, sincerity, peace, understanding, thoughtfulness,intelligence. They can be Can be naive,over-reliant, self-indulgent,

gullible, fatalistic and materialistic.

The rat is Forthright, disciplined, systematic, meticulous, charismatic,hard working, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable and shrewd.Can be manipulative, cruel, dictatorial, rigid, selfish, obstinate, critical,over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant and scheming.

What did we do?

We went to AJ Housewares and Gifts.

The store had a bunch of different

Chinese knick-knacks, including

Chinese fans, hats, fine china,

Chinese swords, kimonos, etc.

What did we do?

Before we left we made a point to stop at Joy Yee and purchased some smoothies.

What did we do?

● We all greatly enjoyed our trip to Chinatown. It was a long ride on the red

line, but it was worth it.

● We went into a small store where they had different cultural objects.

● The fans were interesting as were the figurines which represent different

beliefs and aspects of the culture.

● The smoothies from Joy yee were very delicious.

Group Experience

Pictures

Pictures

I grew up right outside the city limits of Chicago and had never visited Chinatown. It was

very interesting to see the the local market and shops. For the residents these place would

be so familiar, but it took me a little while to get used to how closely packed everything

was. The actual experience did not spark my curiosity;however, researching demographics

did. A main stereotype of the Chinese is that they are extremely smart. I saw this common

assumption contradicted in the city data. According to this the average residents of

Chinatown that did not complete high school was more than double that of Chicago

residents in total. Chicago is such a diverse city that I don’t feel this experience really

influenced or shaped my view. There are so many areas to explore, and I don’t feel that an

opinion on Chicago can be condensed into one neighborhood. When I think of Chicago,

Chinatown is not the first things that pops into my head. I don’t feel that this experience

was necessarily an authentic Chicago experience because so many cities have areas very

similar to Chicago’s Chinatown. I think better example of authentic experiences would

have been visiting the Chicago Water Tower, Navy Pier, or going to see a show at the

historic Chicago theater.

Personal Experience: Katie

Chinatown was a very interesting experience. I have always found

experiencing other cultures intriguing. Although I enjoyed exploring

Chinatown, I feel that I would have learned much more about Chicago through

visiting a neighborhood which is full of Chicago history. I also feel that the

things we experienced in Chinatown were more based in the chinese culture of

the area, rather than the culture of Chicago. Looking back, I wish our group

would have chosen a different neighborhood. This is only because I would

have prefered experiencing what the city has to offer rather than just the

community of Chinatown in order to truly fulfill the connections to

community. I had a really fun time with my group though, and I would gladly

travel to Chinatown again.

Personal Experience: Sam

I have been to the city many times, but I usually stick to going to the same few places. It's crazy how big Chicago is and how much there is to explore. When we decided to go to Chinatown, I did not know what to expect. When we were in Chinatown it did not feel like we were in Chicago anymore. We walked around the square of shops and restaurants. Everything was closely packed and stores were on top of each other. We found a lot of cute shops to go in and things to take pictures of. Overall, we all agreed Chinatown wasn't the best neighborhood to go to compared to other ones that have a more Chicago-feel, however we had good time hanging out together and experiencing Chinatown for the first time.

Personal Experience: Devan

The Chinatown we went to was not what I had expected. I imagined a small

city that was flooded with culture and enough people to make you feel

claustrophobic. However, this place looked fairly dry with the exception of its

restaurants. In addition to that, the most ethnically impacted area of Chinatown

was about the size of an outlet mall. I began to doubt whether our trip to

Chinatown would be worth it. When we got there, I felt connected with its

culture. The statues, architecture, and even advertisements made me realize

that it retained the same vibe that the other Chinatown in California set on me.

As I recall, it was a Monday afternoon so it may not have been so busy to

begin with. But looking back at it, I did enjoy myself there. I can see myself

going back soon but I’ll be sure to stop at a restaurant.

Personal Experience: Grant

"Chinatown Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60616 Detailed Profile." Chinatown

Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60616 Subdivision Profile. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

"Chinatown, Chicago." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

___ Chinese Calendar - Chinese Zodiac. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2014.

Works Cited: