# It's Chinatown, Jake **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095 "2004-12-22T01:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/1 "2004-12-22T01:53:45Z")
Whenever I go to Boston, I always see the exit to Chinatown. I know there is also a Chinatown in NYC, and one in either LA or San Francisco. How many Chinatowns are there in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/2 "2004-12-22T02:10:29Z")
[Here’s an (incomplete) list of worldwide Chinatowns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinatowns) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/3 "2004-12-22T02:40:13Z")
Another international Chinatown that’s not on \*\*Governer Quinn’s \*\* list is the one in Panama City, Panama. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/4 "2004-12-22T03:50:09Z")
It’s OT with respect to the OP, but that Wikipedia list also manages to omit all the prominent UK Chinatowns: notably London, Manchester and Liverpool. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/5 "2004-12-22T05:57:40Z")
There are also some towns in Ohio and the state of New York that make fine china. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/6 "2004-12-22T08:06:53Z")
There’s a sizable Chinatown (as well as a decent sized Japanese population) in Lima, Peru also missing from the Wikipedia list. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/7 "2004-12-22T12:19:02Z")
Count Santo Domingo in. It is small, but it does exist. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/8 "2004-12-22T13:02:32Z")
Which Santo Domingo? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/9 "2004-12-22T13:22:24Z")
There are Chinatowns in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, too. And quite a big one in Beijing. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/10 "2004-12-22T13:43:50Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Which Santo Domingo? Well, of course the most important: Dominican Rep. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/11 "2004-12-22T13:50:36Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > And quite a big one in Beijing. I’m not sure that Beijing quite counts here. However, when visiting Hong Kong a few years ago (before it became part of China again) I though that it was probably the world’s largest Chinatown. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/12 "2004-12-22T14:04:47Z")
I really hate being a pedant but a misquote in a thread title is just too much: **Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.** ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/13 "2004-12-22T14:18:47Z")
I haven’t been there, but there’s supposed to be a significant Chinese population in Mexicali, BC. Supposedly the best Chinese food on the continent is to be found there. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/14 "2004-12-22T16:55:46Z")
bonzer writes: \> It’s OT with respect to the OP, but that Wikipedia list also manages to omit all \> the prominent UK Chinatowns: notably London, Manchester and Liverpool. Um, no, it does list the London Chinatown. It’s not a very consistent list, but it does list pretty nearly all the Chinatowns in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. It also lists all the “major” Chinatowns in the world, which might not include Manchester and Liverpool. jjimm writes: \> There are Chinatowns in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, too. And those are listed in Wikipedia. Giles writes: \> I’m not sure that Beijing quite counts here. However, when visiting Hong Kong a \> few years ago (before it became part of China again) I though that it was \> probably the world’s largest Chinatown. Wikipedia defines “Chinatown” as being a neighborhood with a large Chinese population in a society that isn’t majority Chinese, so clearly Beijing and Hong Kong don’t count. So Wikipedia does reasonably well what it claims to do, which is to list all the Chinatowns in the U.S., Canada, and Australia and the major ones in the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/15 "2004-12-23T09:20:37Z")
Hmm, reading the _entire_ article does help, doesn’t it? (In mild defense, I have to say that it’s pretty badly laid out, since several people made the same mistake.) Oh well, I got to do my Beijing “joke” anyway. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/16 "2004-12-23T14:56:02Z")
Washington, DC has one, around the Gallery Place Metro station. It even has an ornate Chinese arch over H Street NW. The Golden Dragon is one of the best Chinese restaurants I’ve ever been too. It’s also right next to the MCI Center (home of the Washington Wizards (basketball) and Capitals (hockey)), so you can go for some good General Tzo’s Chicken either before or after a game. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-chinatown-jake/281095/17 "2004-12-23T15:12:30Z")
AWB writes: \> Washington, DC has one, around the Gallery Place Metro station. And it’s mentioned in the Wikipedia article too.