Connections to Community - Chinatown UNIV 101

1. Connections to Chicago:
Chinatown
Mindy Zhang, Emily Khek, and Angelica DiPrizio

3. Directions to
ChinaTown
● Take the red line towards 95th to
the Cermak-Chinatown stop
● Take the Loyola shuttle to the
Water Tower Campus then get on
the red line (Chicago) to the
Cermak-Chinatown stop

4. History
-Founded in 1870s by Chinese immigrants.
-Population grew steadily until large increases around the 1950s - 1960s.
-Housing was difficult to find, so they moved to neighborhoods around
Chinatown. Housing was developed mostly as condos & townhouses.
-The Chinese American Service League (CASL) was founded in 1978 to help
new immigrants by offering English classes and a daycare center for parents.
-“Two” types of Chinatown were formed.
-Old Chinatown and New Chinatown.
-Old = More for grocers and markets (Wentworth and
Cermak)
-New = Tourist attractions/ More known (Chinatown
Square)

5. Demographics & Median
Income
-Majority Asians
-Living space surrounds the markets/attractions.
-Female population: 24, 900
-Male population: 23, 547
-Median Income:
-25 and below - $24,481
-25-44 - $48,434
-45-64 - $56,494
-65 and over - $30,889

6. JoyY
❖eTweo locations-
Evanston(1994) and
Chinatown(1996)
❖ First in midwest to offer
Taiwanese style bubble tea
and to combine South
Asian “smoothies” with
tapioca balls
❖ Diverse Asian cuisine

7. Gift Shops

8. Bakeries

9. The Nine Dragon Wall

10. Public Services

11. Architecture in Chinatown

14. Landmarks
❖ Dragon Wall
❖ Zodiac Square
❖ Chinatown Gate
❖ Ping Tom Memorial

15. Zodiac Square
❖ Twelve statues
that represent
every animal in
the Chinese
Zodiac calendar
❖ Rotating cycle of
12 Years

16. Ping Tom Memorial
● Created in 1991
● Located on 1700 S. Wentworth Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60616
o near a boat house
● Named after Ping Tom, a resident of
Chinatown

17. Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
● Location: 238 West 23rd
Street, Chicago, IL 60616
● Open since 2005
● Exhibits:
o History
o Festivals
o Holidays
o Architecture
o Food
Admission: $5 donation
suggested, Students and
Seniors $3, FREE for Museum
Members

18. Events & Festivals
❖ Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year Parade)
➢ February
❖ Dragon Boat Festival
➢ June
❖ Mid-Autumn Festival
➢ September
❖ Chinatown Fair
➢ July

19. Reflection - Emily
What impacted me the most from this experience was the elaborate
architecture that was seen in every part of Chinatown. The detail and closeness
to actual buildings and statues in China is outstanding. It definitely made me
want to learn more about Chinese culture. Even though I have been here a few
times, it still felt like it was a first and I was amazed by it overall.
This experience shaped my opinion of the “Second City” by showing me the
extent of diversity that exists. Though it is a Chinese cultural-based town,
during our time there we saw many people of different nationalities. It was
really cool to see so many different people eating food and exploring this
culture.
This Chicago experience was very authentic. We got in touch with many aspects
of the Chinese culture and got to see the wide range of food, art, architecture
and more.

20. Personal Reflection - Mindy
I was born and raised in Chicago and my family used to live around Chinatown
until I was around 2, so I don’t have much memories about it at all. As I was
growing up, my family used to go to Chinatown to meet up and catch up until I
was around 6; my memories were less faint than before. We always went to my
uncle’s old business, so I was very unfamiliar with what was within Chinatown.
However, despite how I never spent much time to get to know the area, I began
to research more into it now.
Before, I knew about where the stores and Archer Ave. were, but I never knew
about the services that are offered, the types of buildings there were. This
shaped my opinion a bit more optimistically, because I would have never
known that there were many opportunities such as the program that CASL
offers to the people, to learn English.

21. Personal Reflection-Angelica
This was my first time visiting Chinatown and it was an overall amazing
experience. I got to witness different aspects I do not see on a daily basis. The
food, architecture, and atmosphere were all so interesting to me. I felt like a
tourist for a day! I really admired the Chinese culture and viewing it from a
different perspective. I saw pictures and heard about Chinatown, but actually
experiencing it allowed me to really enjoy a different lifestyle. Viewing the
various architectural designs and nationalities, were very fascinating. There
were many buildings dedicated to food, gifts, and services. I got to try bubble
tea for the first time as well, and it was very appetizing! I learned a lot by going
there and taking everything in by just walking around! I know I’ll definitely
have to visit there again and take my family along so they can enjoy the
enriching experience as I did!

22. Works Cited
"Chicago Chinatown Chamber Upcoming Events -." Chicago Chinatown Chamber. N.p., 2013. Web. 19
Oct. 2014.
"Chicago Park District." Ping Tom Memorial Park. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"Culture." Chicago Chinatown Chamber. N.p., 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"Home." Chicago Chinatown Chamber. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://chicagochinatown.org/>.
"Resources – Landmarks & Tourism." Chicago Chinatown Chamber. N.p., 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"Chinatown." Demographics & Statistics. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago/Chinatown-Demographics.html>.
"History." Chicago-Chinatown. 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.chicago-chinatown.
com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?li=6>.
"Chinatown Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60616 Detailed Profile." City-Data. Urban Mapping,
Inc, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Chinatown-Chicago-
IL.html>.