American Chinatown

Contents

Introduction: Personal Geography

PART I. The Oldest: San Francisco

Chapter One: American Pagodas

Behind the tourist architecture.

Chapter Two: Alleyway Kids

How youth is reinvigorating the neighborhood.

Chapter Three: Chained Migration

Family ties pull a new generation through Chinatown Gate, but not without difficulty.

PART II. The Biggest: New York

Chapter Four: City Within A City

The industry of Chinatown changes New York.

Chapter Five: The New Chinese School

Learning to read, write, and live a heritage.

Chapter Six: Fortune Cookies

What the path of the folded wafers tells us about the movement of communities.

PART III. The Hollywood Icon: Los Angeles

Chapter Seven: Chinatownland

The longtime partnership between Hollywood and Chinatown.

Chapter Eight: Hometown Chinatown

In an increasingly disparate community, it’s where the kids hang out.

Chapter Nine: Preacher Man, Teacher Man

Neighborhood anchors for a new arrival.

PART IV. The Crossroads: Honolulu

Chapter Ten: Kapakahi Chinatown

Where “all mixed up” is the enduring story.

Chapter Eleven: Neighborhood Crossings

How a local boy became an accidental chef.

Chapter Twelve: History Lessons

Chinatown’s disenchanted generation, on preserving the past and building the future.

PART V. The Newest: Las Vegas

Chapter Thirteen: Chinatown, Next Exit

The man who invented a new breed of Chinatown.

Chapter Fourteen: Miss Chinatown, U.S.A.

Beauty queens and lion dancers in the desert.

Chapter Fifteen: The New Tenants

The new immigrant generation on the Strip.

Conclusion: Moving Pictures