Филадельфия: Растущий Чайнатаун и его история

Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation supports the area. The neighborhood stretches from Vine Street on the north, Arch Street on the south; North Franklin Street and N. 7th Street on the east; to North Broad Street on the west. Unlike some traditional Chinatowns, the Philadelphia Chinatown continues to grow in size and ethnic Chinese population, as Philadelphia itself is, as of 2018, experiencing significant Chinese immigration from New York City, 95 mile (153 km) to the north, and (as of 2019) from China, the top country of birth by a significant margin sending immigrants to Philadelphia. {
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In the mid late 19th century, Cantonese immigrants to Philadelphia opened laundries and restaurants in an area near Philadelphia's commercial wharves. This led to the start of Philadelphia's Chinatown. The first business was a laundry owned by Lee Fong at 913 Race Street; it opened in 1871.

In the following years, Chinatown consisted of ethnic Chinese businesses clustered around the 900 block of Race Street. Prior to the mid 1960s, it consisted of several restaurants and one grocery store. In the mid 1960s, large numbers of families began moving to Chinatown. In the late 1990s, the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team was hoping to build a new ballpark in downtown Philadelphia to replace the aging Veterans Stadium in South Philadelphia. Several locations were considered, including 12th and Vine Streets, just north of the Vine Street Expressway. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation mounted an intense opposition to the ballpark plans. Residents were concerned that the ballpark would destroy Chinatown. The PCDC staged protests and rallies that united neighborhood groups, religious, labor, ethnic, and political groups. The official opening and dedication ceremony was held on November 8, 2019.

Vine Street is the northern boundary of Chinatown. Restaurants and shops, with apartment units located above, are in the buildings south of Vine Street, within Chinatown. Factories and other industrial properties are located on the other side of Vine Street. Filbert Street serves as the southern border. Chinatown includes a core area that has seven city blocks. Many of the residents of the block were, as of 1998, recent immigrants. As of the 2000 U. S. Census, the service area of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation had 1,362 residents in 459 households. Of the residents, 1,085 were Asian American, 152 were White American, 71 were African American, 31 were of other races, and 23 were Hispanic American. During that year the community had 509 housing units, with 50 of them being vacant and 85 of them being owner occupied. As of 1998 the wider Chinatown area had about 4,000 residents. Many of them worked in clothing assembly companies, restaurants, and related suppliers located in the area. As of that year, most residents were Chinese American. As of the 1990 U. S. Census the median income of Chinatown was under $15,000. The median income of the 47,000 residents of Center City Philadelphia as a whole was $60,000. Weighing about 88 tons and standing 40 feet high, the Gate has bright colors and elaborate designs that reflect early Chinese imperial construction. It has themes of mythical creatures and graphic patterns typical of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A procession of mythical animals is featured on tiles. The phoenix is meant to ensure good luck. The dragon, said to have the magical power of retaining water in its mouth, is intended to protect the structure of the Gate and the community from fire. The four traditional Chinese characters on both sides of the Gate are, "費城華埠" (Fèichéng huá bù), which means Philadelphia Chinatown. The Gate was repainted in 2008 with the help of Tianjin artisans using ancient techniques and traditional materials and funded by the City of Philadelphia and the help of Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. The Gate was rededicated on November 19, 2008.

Chinatown features a large number of restaurants featuring East Asian cuisines. 10th Street and Race Street host nearly a dozen different Hong Kong style bakery cafes. Furthermore, there are restaurants serving Cantonese, Fujianese, Northern, Sichuan, and Taiwanese cuisine. Numerous restaurants in Philadelphia's Chinatown feature other Asian cuisines, such as Burmese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

The Chinatown station on SEPTA's Broad Ridge Spur is located at 8th and Vine streets, and Jefferson Station serving SEPTA Regional Rail is only a block from the Chinatown Friendship Gate. Jefferson Station is located in the neighborhood and SEPTA provides local bus transportation to the area. At one time China Airlines provided a private complimentary bus service from the Holy Redeemer Church in the Philadelphia Chinatown to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to facilitate transportation for passengers for its flights to Taipei, Taiwan.

The School District of Philadelphia operates area public schools. Residents of much of the Chinatown area are zoned to General George A. McCall School, a K 8 school located in Society Hill, 1 mile (2 km) south of Chinatown. As of 2005 most Chinatown residents who are unable to afford tuition to send their children to private school send their children to McCall. All persons assigned to McCall are assigned to Benjamin Franklin High School in North Philadelphia. Previously most area residents were zoned to Horace Furness High School in South Philadelphia. Folk Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS, ), a K 8 public charter school, is located in Chinatown. In 1993, the school district began a school bus route between Chinatown and McCall. The district was not required to install the route, but parents advocated for the route because they believed that traffic at Market Street and Washington Square endangered their children. When the district proposed cutting the route in 1994, parents complained. The Philadelphia Community College system serves Chinatown.