21st Century Chinatown by Chipka
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Description
There is no Coka Cola in Chinatown. There are no potato chips or junk food of any sort. McDonalds is known only by its absence. Though Chicago’s Chinatown exists close to the heart of the city-proper, there is a distinct, Asian feeling to the area when you walk through its intimate confines and find lunch in small restaurants that resemble Communist-throwback cafeterias rather than “fine” dining establishments. I prefer the Communist-throwback cafeterias, because very old men reading Mandarin and Cantonese newspapers know where to eat the best food while giving their wives a chance to play Mah Jong with the girls and gossip without those bothersome men around, messing everything up.
There are no convenience stores in Chinatown. You buy what you need at local markets, all dedicated to a particular range of products. Herbalists stand beside pan-Asian hair salons. River Sky Travel shares building space with Tasty Place, a bakery/café that might have free WiFi. It exists downstairs from an inscrutable business with a name rendered only in Chinese, with the declaration: “You have questions. We have answers.” As far as I can tell it’s some kind of computer-related business.
There is neon in Chinatown. There are fu dog and fu lions, guarding against evil with their elegant, curved fangs. Red, the color of prosperity, is abundant, as are dragons with a lucky number of splayed claws and friendly, gaping jaws. Candy wrapped in edible rice paper is what the children eat—and quite a few of the adults, too, and as you glance north, Chicago’s Sears Tower (I’ll never call it by its new name) stands like a forlorn and sullen accident on the pagoda-clotted horizon.
Wafts of incense filter into the air from various shops, and near the northern border of the neighborhood (where exuberant dangerously-cute street-rats build nests in an odd, fenced-in enclosure) a pan-Asian supermarket sells a variety of foods that can be found only in Asia-dominant places. It’s a supermarket devoid of anything recognizable in the Western world. It looks strangely Czech for that, though at least in Czech supermarkets, you can find names written in English. In Prague, if you want good fruit juice, just look for “Clever”—the ubiquitous brand name there. In Chicago’s Chinatown, if you want good fruit juice, good luck in deciphering the Simplified Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, or Korean labels. Orange juice doesn’t even have a picture of an orange on the label, though you might see children with flowers in their hair. In our search for liquid refreshment, we settled on English tea with milk in oddly-shaped plastic bottles. We weren’t in the mood for that strangely gelatinous green stuff clearly intended for kids…nor were we willing to buy a gallon of some pomegranate-colored liquid with sediment on the bottom.
And so, with English Tea with milk (and microwave heating instructions rendered in Hiragana, Katakana, and mercifully little Kanji) we ambled through the Chinatown Mall. I missed a bit of it because of my tea. I’d studied Japanese for two years and found myself really confused by the sheer mass of information printed on my “English Tea” bottle. All I know is that according to the label, the tea is “very delicious” when heated properly; and drinking it cold is refreshing for modern people…or something like that. I have to say, it was delicious and strangely floral in taste…which is why this elevator-shaft pagoda is the first picture I remembered to take, despite passing all sorts of interesting things, almost garish things.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and thank you to those who have marked previous bits of my work as Favorites. It means a lot!
Comments (31)
mbz2662
Thank you for the wonderful trip through China Town. Great pov too!
bimm3d
wonderful story and photo!!!
beachzz
This is a beautiful image of your Chinatown. I've been to the one in San Francisco, and it has the same look and feel as this does. You wander around and you know you're somewhere very special.
blinkings
This is great mate. I love the colour and the pov you have chosen. Well done. Now I feel like some nice Chinese food!
mariogiannecchini
Beautiful image and color !
bmac62
Your writing got me thinking again. A strange thought just hit me. The residents of our Chinatowns across the USA are in need of a trip back to China for modernization:-) Your point is well taken...within the confines of most Chinatowns, outside influences are absent...and that's not all bad! Glad you caught this most interesting piece of Chicago-Chinese architecture. Nicely done.
auntietk
Wowww ... what a fabulous image! I love the light. (I mean really ... LOOK at it!) Excellent photograph, and of course I love your writeup. (Who's ever seen a pagoda with roman brick?? Does it get any more "Chicago" than that?)
prutzworks
interesting architecture like the composition cool story
helanker
How interesting to get a little glimse of what to find in China town. Very fascinating and it is amazingly beautiful, this capture. YAY! I was on a little trip to China Town this morning. :)
durleybeachbum
AMAZING, Both the architecture and the shopping experience! Again your words take us there with you, and what a thrill it is! this photo does the same job very elegantly, and as Tara says the building is SO unexpected.
Meisiekind
Goodness gracious Chip - This is F A N T A S T I C!!! The POV is perfect and the ambience most delightful... I can alsmost smell the wonderful aromas of Chinese food! Gosh, I love this image! Well done!!! :)
Mondwin
Wonderful image!!!Bravissimo!V:DDD.Hugsxx
tamburro
Woww!!!! Fantastic architecture, excellent shot my friend!!! Hugs:)
jac204
Very nice. Wish I could visit Chicago more often.
claude19
What made you beautiful desciption of Chinatown Chicago ... its food, its people, the freedom of women, spices, restaurants ... I saw again at the same time the scenery of this magnificent film "Chinatown" and ... I told myself that in 25 years, everything is the same ... the love you have for this area ... equaled that your love for Prague! BEAUTIFUL!
thecytron
Xcellent color photo!
MrsRatbag
Wonderful shot, and I can feel that air of "foreign" that you get in places like this...well done!
Hubba1
Very cool shot chip, Awesome job on this :)
Sea_Dog
Great writing - I feel as if I'm actually in Chicago's Chinatown, all my travels in Asia boiled down to a single instant - sounds, smells sights. All from you superb image and narrative. Great work, Chip.
flora-crassella
wonderful perspective! Great picture!!!
ladyraven23452
love it.
kgb224
Outstanding capture and story my friend.
elfin14doaks
Chinatown seems really cool and so is the picture. I am not sure if I would be to busy taking things in. I am sure I would pull out my camera and take them in that way. I have the tendency to do that, which is why I watched the entire air show through the view finder and took 747 pictures of it. Dave said I missed some cool stuff going on around me.
Roxam
Always a gift from a VERY gifted person! Haven't commented because of too much to do and brain put on mega-mundane-mode, however tired and overwhelmed, I've never missed a Chipka post, or failed to be delighted, awed, inspired and refreshed----Thank You so much for sharing your great talents and for sharing yourself.
danapommet
Great shot and awesome narrative. Dana
myrrhluz
I was totally wrapped up in your narrative from the moment I began to read. Wonderful descriptions and humor. It set my mind to thinking too. The business with answers, what if they have no relationship to your questions. They don't promise to have an answer for your specific question. Later on you talked about stores with unrecognizable products. This reminded me of when I was in Japan and saw a 7-11 store. Something familiar! I walked in. Nothing familiar. It was a surreal experience. Very funny description of the label on the tea. The image, which struck me first with the excellent color and POV, also has a lot of fascinating details. I love the square lamps and the fact that one is on and one off. With so much symmetry, it's interesting that the windows on the facing walls are different. Where does the elevator go to. It would seem to take up most of the space. The glow from the light on the bricks is beautiful and cast wonderful shadows of the square lamps. This is a picture and story to spend time with, like the rest of your work!
blondeblurr
If it wasn't for the flamboyant-decorative tower, I could get a feeling of Claustrophobia walking through there, almost a jail-like, spartan look... very lonely, but the warm lights (some of them) soften it up again ! Good POV, capturing the essence. Cheers BB
wysiwig
Wonderful picture and story. You really put us right there with you. Los Angeles is pretty antiseptic but San Francisco still has a lot of character.
MagikUnicorn
BEAUTY...I think all great american city have a Beautiful China-Town :) Chinatown has its origins as early as 1860 when Chinese immigrants came to Montreal in search of work and prosperity. They settled mainly on de la Gauchetiere and lower St. Laurent Blvd. Today Chinatown is a vibrant community and the original settlement has transformed from residential to commercial. For authentic Chinese food lovers the only place to go is Chinatown! Stroll along the main thoroughfare de la Gauchetiere and experience first hand the hustle and bustle of a vibrant culture. Street merchants selling everything from tasty treats to caricatures will entertain you. You will find great gift ideas including beautiful kimonos, lingerie, crafts and china. No trip to Chinatown is complete without sampling some of the local cuisine, the best that Chinatown has to offer will find you at Restaurant Hong Kong, Le Jardin du Nord and Ming Yeng, serving up Chinese specialties for visitors and locals alike. Choose from a variety of dishes such as Won Ton soups, dumplings, Peking Duck, Crispy Chicken, General Tao, Sea Bass and Lobster dishes. See you there! MU
-seek-
really cool shot man.. the lighting is great