Historical & Cultural Significance of Chinatown
For 150 years, Philadelphia’s Chinatown has been the cultural heart of Philly’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and our community is worth fighting for.
Chinatown has been the place where we share community, culture, and language. It is where generations of immigrants have found home. It is where folks who don’t speak English can easily navigate and find community, and at a time of rising anti-Asian hate, Chinatown is where we are safe.
The neighborhood is full of life that the proposed arena would displace. When you walk through Chinatown you see children playing, people grocery shopping, friends chatting in bakeries eating pastries, seniors taking walks and socializing in the morning, students hanging out after school, friends gathering for dinner and lunch, and families going to worship, eat, sing, and drink. Chinatown is alive.
Chinatown has fought for our right to exist, as big developers and the government tried to chip away at the edges of our neighborhood to rip out a profit. Our community has been on the front lines fighting against the Vine Street Expressway, Convention Center, a federal prison, two casinos, a baseball stadium, and more.
Thanks to the community that has fought for generations to preserve this neighborhood, Chinatown is one of the few remaining communities of color and low-income communities in Center City, and one of few authentic Chinatowns left in the country.
