Chinatown

Chinatown Review

Centered on 10th and Race streets two blocks north of Market Street, Chinatown serves as the residential and commercial hub of the city's Chinese community. Chinatown has grocery stores, souvenir and gift shops, martial arts studios, a fortune cookie store, bilingual street signs, red-and-green pagoda-style telephone booths, and more than 50 restaurants. Over the past 20 years Chinatown's population has become more diverse, reflecting the increase in immigration from other parts of Southeast Asia. As a result, the dining options are more varied; there now are restaurants serving authentic Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, and Burmese cuisine. One striking Chinatown site is the Chinese Friendship Gate, straddling 10th Street at Arch Street. This intricate and colorful 40-foot-tall arch—the largest authentic Chinese gate outside China—was created by Chinese artisans, who brought their own tools and construction materials. The citizens of Tianjin, Philadelphia's sister city in China, donated the building materials, including the ornamental tile.