When people think of Chinatown, they probably see a similar image where there are bunches of uncanny restaurants, narrow alleys lined with scarlet lanterns, old Chinese ladies walking and talking at the corners of streets and a series of family-run grocery stores that display an array of commodities whose variety far exceeds what one might need; and the picture of a vibrant and modern "hippie town" would seem like the least unfitting idea.
Well, you may still see that when you take the first look. But as you go a step nearer, you may notice the new look of Chinatown that is hidden behind the back doors of the traditional souvenir shops and herb stores.
When the first Chinese immigrants settled in the dark valleys on Alemada and Macy Streets in Los Angeles in the late 1880s, there were not many businesses seen in the community where they called home. Most of the Chinese men were hired to be a part of the Central Pacific Railroad Co. as workers to help build the railway. Laws strictly prohibited the Chinese from owning any land or property, so they had to lease or rent or stay near their working place.
74-year-old William (Caijun) Lee, the former President of the National Association of Chinese-Americans, Southern California, were among the first group of Chinese-American immigrants who were able to obtain self-sufficiency by starting small businesses. After attending the first China Import and Export Fair 1957, Lee opened his all-compassing grocery store that sells everything from food, handcrafts, and clothing to daily supplies that were imported from China. Most small businesses were passed from one generation to the next. 45-year-old Esther Jin who owns the souvenir store "Import Bazaar" was one of the innovators who managed to expand her family businesses into branched shops and made her business more sustainable by manufacturing her goods locally instead of strictly importing from China or other Southeast Asian countries.
But investment came into the place mostly populated by small, family businesses about a decade ago and attempted to bring a new life into the "old" Chinatown. Since the rents in the district are relatively low, Chinatown attracted many new and fresh businesses that mainly cater to the younger generation. Restaurants like Chego, Pok Pok, Blossom that carried a tag of fun and instant gratification, rebooted the vibrancy in the formerly silent aisles in Far East Center and Central Plaza.
The LA Chinatown Business Council and the Small Business Program at the Chinatown Service Center are two of the organizations that helped to provide information and guidance to anyone regardless of background who are interested in starting businesses in Chinatown.
“George who is the director of the Chinatown Business Council helped me a lot when I was first thinking of opening my clothing store,"" the owner of vintage store "East/West" Erin Yao said, "he personally drove me around Chinatown to familiarized me with the environment here."
When businesses were prosperous, the art and culture would rise in response. There are actually many "artsy" places that started to pop up in the neighborhood in the old architecture. 23-year-old Chelsea is USC graduate and she started to open her own gallery and displayed the works of her favorites artist. Her gallery only opened last week.
According to Chelsea, she chose Chinatown to do her business because she felt that it is a "welcoming place."
"There’s a great diversity of people from different cultures and background here, it makes me feel like this should be the place for art to grow and prosper."
"And we’re here not to pop the mama and papa stores out, we just want to work, grow and flourish together,"she said.