chinatown 1
june 23, 2002
[cueing erhu music] if this doesn't scream chinatown, then i don't know what does. two dueling dragons stand guard at one end of the los angeles chinatown and serving as the chinatown gateway into all things exotic, mystical and foreign.
[changing music to lion dance music] i finally spent some time in the los angeles chinatown recently by doing a little personal walking tour. it's by walking that you truly get all the sights, sounds and SMELLS of chinatown. it's been years since i took a leisurely stroll by pedestrian means and i've forgotten that in all the old chinatowns of america, cantonese/toisanese still reigns supreme. i suppose i've been a bit too immersed in my own little suburbia chinatowns, where cantonese takes a backseat, so this was a very welcome change where i didn't have to switch modes to speak.
walking past a lot of the familiar places, it reminded me of how much chinatown has been part of my childhood. looking at that mural above, i remember always eating at the golden dragon restaurant when i was very young and those murals have always been there as long as i can remember for all the banquets, festivities, dim sum and such. there weren't as many places to choose from back then for fine cantonese dining. nowadays, the golden dragon exists no more and is called something else but the murals remain the same.
the los angeles chinatown certainly has lost a bit of its luster since i was a child. as much as i wish it was as grand as the san francisco one or as buzzing with activitiy as the nyc one, the la one cannot even begin to come close. there are much less people roaming about since the majority of the old timers have passed on and their children have probably moved out of chinatown. most of the chinese folks don't need to visit chinatown for their purchases anymore since there's probably a more convenient suburbia chinatown nearby. there is a huge influx of chinese/vietnamese doing business there now as opposed to the cantonese/toisanese folks who used to be there. many of the buildings and storefronts are decrepit from lack of care. and by late afternoon, a sort of desolation begins as the streets slowly become barren. but still, the los angeles chinatown still has a sense of a true chinatown, with the colors of glaring reds, greens and golds. jade hawkers. gold jewelers. fake watch sellers. butchershops. bbq restaurants. fishmongers. the haggling of prices. everything paid in cash. vegetables and fruits spilling out into the streets. urine scented alleys. trash littered on the darkened dingy cement. the chatter of old timers sitting on benches or bus stops. and let's not forget the old school bakery shops. it's good to see that the only maria's bakery left in los angeles is still around. it's all good, right jp? and of course i couldn't leave without getting a lil something from there, for old time's sake. :)
but here are some things you may not know that's going on in chinatown:
the chinatown summer film festival :o
this will be the first of several installments on the los angeles chinatown. there's just too many photos to share in one entry. enjoy.
