| Chinatown is an urban region containing a large population of Chinese people within a non-Chinese society. The term Chinatown has also been used (mostly by non-Chinese) to describe urban areas where large numbers of people of Asian descent live, such as Vietnamese, Japanese, and Koreans. Chinatowns are most common in Southeast Asia and North America, but growing Chinatowns can be found in Europe and beyond. Chinatowns were formed in the 19th century in many areas of the United States and Canada as a result of discriminatory land laws which forbade the sale of land to Chinese outside of a restricted geographical area and which promoted the segregation of people of different ethnicities. However, the location of a Chinatown in a particular city may change over time. In Chinese, Chinatown is usually called in Mandarin Táng rén jiē (唐人街), meaning "the street of the Tang people" (an uncommon term for "the Chinese", used here since the Cantonese, which make up a large proportion of immigrants, were only fully brought under imperial control under the Tang Dynasty). Indeed, some Chinatowns are just a street, such as Fisgard Street in Victoria, British Columbia. In Cantonese, it is Tong yun fau (唐人鎮), which literally means "Tang people town" or more accurately, "Chinese town". It is Tong Ngin Gai in Hakka, the third widely spoken dialect among overseas Chinese. "Tang" and "Tong" refers to the Tang Dynasty, an era in Chinese history. A more modern Chinese name is Huábù (華埠), or "Chinese City," which is used in the semi-official Chinese translations of some cities' documents and signs. Bù, pronounced sometimes as fù, usually means "seaport"; but in this sense, it means "city" or "town." The literal word-to-word translation of "Chinatown" is Zhōngguó Chéng (中國城), which is occasionally used in Chinese writing. In Francophone regions (such as France and Quebec, Canada), Chinatown is often referred to as le Quartier chinois (meaning "the Chinese Quarter"; plural: les quartiers chinois) and the Spanish-language term is usually el Barrio Chino ("the Chinese neighborhood"; plural: los barrios chinos), used in Spain and Latin America. Other countries also have names for Chinatown in local languages; however, some local terms may not necessarily translate as "Chinatown". 2.1 India
2.2 Indonesia
2.3 Japan
2.4 Korea
2.5 Philippines
2.6 Malaysia
2.7 Singapore
2.8 Thailand
2.9 Vietnam
3.1 Belgium
3.2 France
3.3 Germany
3.4 Italy
3.5 Netherlands
3.6 Serbia
3.7 Spain
3.8 United Kingdom
4.1 Australia
4.2 New Zealand
5.1 Madagascar
5.2 South Africa
6.1 Argentina
6.2 Cuba
6.3 Dominican Republic
6.4 Peru
6.5 Venezuela
Social problems in ChinatownLike many other communities, the older Chinatowns have their share of social problems. In the past and present, before Chinatowns were viewed and valued as tourist attractions, many Chinatowns have had reputations of being dilapidated ghettoes and slums. They were once the sites of brothels, opium dens, and gambling halls. GangsIn modern times, competing Asian street gangs and organized crime (such as the Tongs and the Hong Kong-based Triads) continue to plague the metropolitan Chinatowns including San Francisco, New York City, and Vancouver. Tongs are Chinese secret societies. There have been 'Tong wars' or 'civil wars', so to speak, between the Tong groups in the older Chinatowns. Initially, many Chinatown gangs were formed to supposedly defend the community from the lo fahn (Cantonese word and transliteration for "Caucasians"). Chinese American street gangs often have connections with the tongs and triads. Examples of such street gangs include the Joe Boys and Jackson Street Gang (after the major street of San Francisco Chinatown). Turf wars have been common in the older Chinatowns. Gang rivalry among Chinatown gangs has sometimes been high profile. As Chinatowns tend to be tourist attractions, tourists in Chinatowns have sometimes been victims of these gang warfare crimes. In 1977, a shoot-out in a San Francisco Chinatown restaurant (where the rival gang were normally based) occurred, in which two tourists and several waiters were murdered by stray gunfire in a botched assassination attempt on a Wah Ching gang member. This incident is notoriously known as the Golden Dragon Massacre and it mobilized the San Francisco Police Department to create an Asian crime unit. ExtortionRacketeering against Chinese merchants (e.g., restaurants and shops) by the gangs is common in the older Chinatowns worldwide, especially during the Chinese New Year. Worldwide, Triad activity is usually suspect. In U.S. Chinatowns, many Triads and Chinese American teenage gangs - some are the younger to jee (approximate transliteration for the "American-born Chinese") and others are slightly older yee mun (Cantonese: foreign-born) - often perpetuate the crimes. During this time, many racketeering activities are often disguised as benign dragon and lion dance performances in front of the business establishments and money is "donated" in return. (However, not all performances are done for illegal purposes. Many dances are also performed by legitimate organizations from the local community; for example, Chinatown youth groups.) Failing to pay the "protection money" to the gangs often resulted in either vandalism (such as broken windows), kidnapping, murder, or arson to the Chinese establishment or bodily harm to its owner. For example, on January 24, 2001 around Chinese New Year, in the Richmond Chinatown district of San Francisco, two Chinese restaurants were firebombed almost simultaneously. Three teenagers were convicted of the crime and sentenced to six years each in prison. However, the suburban Chinatowns are not entirely immune from the acts of extortion. In the so-called "HongKongTown" of Richmond, British Columbia, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) arrested six male suspects in connection with extortion that involved assaulting a Chinese Canadian waiter and then vandalizing the restaurant in 1999. Many Chinese victims in Chinatown are often reluctant to report any incidents of gang harassment to authorities because they fear possible retaliation. First-generation immigrants, who often speak limited English, may be in the country illegally, or have a general distrust of the police. Indeed, many immigrants came from countries where the police intimidated the population, such as with Communist China and Taiwan's martial law under President Chiang Kai-shek. In Hong Kong, until recently, the police were often corrupt and ineffective. Smuggling of immigrantsThe Triads are also primarily responsible for smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States and Canada, often from China and Vietnam. In a parallel to Mexican "coyotes", these Asian smugglers are called "snakeheads". Many of these immigrants are indentured who will end up in "under the table" low-wage service (e.g., waiter, massage parlors, etc.), prostitution, and garment sweatshop jobs. Some of these social problems have been the subject for several Hollywood police films such as The Corruptor (set in New York Chinatown but filmed in Toronto's Chinatown), starring Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat, and Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke. Decaying ChinatownsMany older Chinatowns such as the ones in Houston and Vancouver have been declining over the years. Social ills such as homelessness and drug-related problems occur with some Chinatowns in urban areas. For example, Vancouver's Chinatown is in close proximity to the notorious drug-infested Downtown Eastside. Hence, many vagrants - oftentimes by non-Chinese - are seen aggressively panhandling and sometimes causing a nuisance on the streets of older Chinatowns making it unattractive for future investment. Also, being near the inner-city, the Los Angeles Chinatown and others have had a perception of being unsafe, especially at night, thus many Chinatown businesses close normally around 5 or 6 pm with only a handful of restaurants open. Some visitors and local Chinese business owners are often turned away from urban Chinatowns. There have been programs between Chinatown community members and the local police working together to improve the safety and aesthetics of Chinatowns, such as graffiti removal. A notable improvement has been the Chinatown in Los Angeles with several revitalization plans that have failed to take off due to low funding. Police departments in other cities are developing Chinatown outreach programs. The old Chinatowns now face heavy competition from the ethnic Chinese large supermarkets, shopping centers, and mini-malls found in the suburbs. Indeed, many old Chinatowns have experienced declining revenue. For example, the Chinatowns of San Francisco and Oakland compete with the shopping centers in Cupertino and Los Angeles's Chinatown squares off with the San Gabriel Valley (check out the Southern California section of this article for information) of California, and the gleaming suburban Chinese business district of Richmond compete with the old Vancouver Chinatown for business and revenue. SARS ConcernsAs previously stated, Toronto attracts the largest number of Hong Kong immigrants. Hence, many Chinese Canadians tend to travel to and from Hong Kong on a regular basis. In 2003, several deaths attributed to the outbreak of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus in Toronto prompted a major scare as it was spread by a Chinese Canadian woman who had visited Hong Kong, managed to contract the virus during her visit, and died upon her return to Canada. The panic spread across cities with Chinatowns in Canada and in the United States as many Chinese businesses urged people who had recently been traveling in China (where SARS was first reported) or Hong Kong to stay away. In addition, many Chinese restaurants and shopping centers, especially in the Chinatowns of Toronto and Markham, saw a reduction in business because of the perceived SARS threat. Thus, many Chinese Canadians and even Chinese Americans faced an economic impact on their businesses. During the peak of the hype, several businesses in Chinatowns old and new even began capitalizing on the fear by selling face masks and SARS "survival kits". To allay some of the public fears in Canada and worldwide, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman had lunch in a Toronto Chinatown restaurant to show that the restaurants and Chinatown in general were safe for tourism. Interestingly enough, there were rumors circulating around Chinese communities and the Internet (especially with e-mail chain letters) to avoid certain Chinese restaurants and supermarkets in many urban and suburban Chinatowns because there they could have allegedly contracted the virus. Some authorities have theorized these warnings were initiated by rival competing Chinese businesses. There was no factual basis found for these claims. Annual events in ChinatownMost Chinatowns the world over present Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year) festivities with ubiquitous dragon and lion dances and loud firecrackers, especially on Chinese storefronts. In addition, some streets of Chinatowns are usually closed off for parades, street festivals, and carnival rides. Others may also be held in a local park or school grounds within Chinatown. Some Chinatowns hold an annual "Miss Chinatown" beauty pageant, such "Miss Chinatown San Francisco," "Miss Chinatown Hawaii" or Miss Chinatown Houston" (just to name a few examples). Prominent Chinatowns worldwideMain article: List of Chinatowns Chinatown in film, television and the arts- Big Trouble in Little China (1986), movie, Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall
- Blade Runner (1982), movie, Los Angeles Chinatown of 2019, Harrison Ford
- Chinatown (1974), movie
- Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993), movie, San Francisco
- Driver, video game, San Francisco Chinatown
- Flower Drum Song, musical, San Francisco
- Golden Gate (movie) (1994), movie, San Francisco, Matt Dillon and Joan Chen
- Hawaii Five-O (1978), TV series, "A Death in the Family" episode. Honolulu Chinatown
- Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996), movie, Brisbane (Australia) Chinatown, Jackie Chan
- Jade (1995), movie, San Francisco, with David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino
- The Joy Luck Club (1993), movie
- Mr. Nice Guy (1997), movie, Melbourne (Australia) Chinatown, Jackie Chan
- Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939), movie, Boris Karloff
- Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown (1940), Boris Karloff
- Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997), movie, frontier Chinatown, Jet Li
- Romeo Must Die (2000), movie, Vancouver Chinatown, Jet Li and Aaliyah
- Rush Hour (1998), movie, Los Angeles Chinatown, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker
- The Corruptor (1999), movie, set in Manhattan Chinatown but filmed in Toronto Chinatown, Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg
- The Game (1997), movie, San Francisco, Michael Douglas
- The X-Files (1996), TV series, "Hell Money" episode. Filmed in Vancouver Chinatown, set in San Francisco but appears less hilly!
- Time Machine: Chinatown: Strangers in a Strange Land, TV documentary, History Channel
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), movie, Pierce Brosnan, motorcycle chase scene supposedly set in Ho Chi Minh City's Cholon district (Vietnam) but actually filmed in Bangkok's Yaowarat (Thailand).
- Year of the Dragon (1985), movie, Manhattan Chinatown, Mickey Rourke.
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