When people mention Chinese food and culture, Chinatown is also the place they mention. There are so many types of shops and restaurants that can explore and find interesting things. Nowadays, there are three main areas in New York City also called enclaves where Chinese can settle. But they are totally different from the stereotype of the old Chinatown which was an isolated, homogeneous and hierarchically organized community. Flushing is bigger than in Queens, Eighth Avenue is another in Brooklyn and Chinatown is more famous in Downtown Manhattan. They became settlements for the Chinese for different reasons at different times. Furthermore, between these three areas, although similar, they still have many differences. Like languages, people's hometowns and so on. Among these, the one in Manhattan is the oldest and has a longer history than the other two. As described in the chapter Chinese: Divergent Destinies in Immigrant New York, the traveler was getting off the train in Flushing with other passengers who were mostly Asian. Flushing is now known as the Chinatown of Queens. A traveler taking the N train to Brooklyn and getting off at Eighth Avenue exits the subway station to find himself on what looks like a street in China. It's Brooklyn's Chinatown. But now the Chinese population in Queens and Brooklyn has surpassed that of Manhattan. In this research paper, I would like to discuss the growth process of these three neighborhoods and some information about these legendary areas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, we should find out the reason why Chinatown was founded. There were three main waves of Chinese immigrants. Chinese traders and sailors began arriving in the United States in the mid-18th century; while this population was largely transient, a small number remained in New York and intermarried. The first wave occurred between 1840 and 1943, at which time the California Gold Rush and other job opportunities were the main reasons Chinese chose to come to America. Because Chinese immigrant workers provided cheap labor and did not use any government infrastructure since the Chinese migrant population was predominantly composed of healthy adult males, opposition to exclusion occurred in California in the early 1850s because Chinese immigrants were important taxpayers when both states and localities were experiencing severe fiscal difficulties. State attempts to legislate exclusion were successful only after financial conditions improved in the late 1850s. Then, the government decided to ban immigration from China. This was the backdrop to the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first and only one to outlaw a certain group of people based solely on their race. The second wave was from 1943 to 1980. An important thing happened for Chinese immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act, which allowed only a national quota of 105 Chinese immigrants per year, was repealed by the Magnuson Act of 1943, at a time when China had become an ally of the United States against Japan in World War II because United States needed to embody an image of fairness and justice. This was the main reason for a huge new wave of immigration at that time. The last wave was from 1980 to today. The reasons have become different compared to 100 years ago. New immigrants at this stage come more for education or investment, not just money. Chinatown was founded during the first wave of Chinese immigrants and then continued to grow to this day. Starting from the mid-nineteenthcentury, the Chinese arrived in significant numbers, lured to the Pacific coast of the United States by stories of “Gold Mountain.” ' California during the gold rushes of the 1840s and 1850s and brought by some agents called labor brokers to build the Central Pacific Railroad. Most came with the intention of spending a few years working, thus earning enough money to return to China, build a house and get married. Usually, the job broker found and arranged people who wanted to make a lot of money in an easy way. Then, the agents would send them by ship. Most of those leaving for America usually embarked in Canton. They had to frequently arrive in San Francisco, California. It would take more than two months from China to America. At the time, conditions on the ship were terrible and many people died on the voyage to America. But the gold rush didn't last long. Subsequently, the Chinese found another way to survive and make money: building the Central Pacific Railroad. At the time, many whites couldn't find work and so chose to blame their unfortunate Chinese by "taking their jobs." Indeed, large-scale workers welcomed the Chinese worker as cheaper, more reliable, and sometimes even more productive than his white competitors. Then, the Chinese Exclusion Act signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, banning all immigration of Chinese workers. After the law was put into practice, as the gold mines began to produce less and the railway neared completion, the ample supply of cheap, available Chinese labor in industries such as cigar rolling and textiles it became a source of tension for white workers, who thought the Chinese would come to take their jobs and threaten their livelihoods. Mob violence and rampant discrimination in the West pushed Eastern Chinese to larger cities, where job opportunities were more open and they could blend more easily with the already diverse population. The Chinese Exclusion Act brought harshness not only to Chinese but also to Caucasians and other races, lasting for about thirty years. The American economy suffered a great loss due to this law. Some sources cite the law as a sign of injustice and unfair treatment of Chinese workers because the jobs they performed were mostly menial labor. As a gathering area for Chinese immigration, Chinatown was the safest and most convenient area for the Chinese at that time. This is how Chinatown began to be established. In the beginning, although Chinatown was the best place for Chinese people to live at that time, there were also existing problems and issues. The most significant was "The Bachelor's Society". The already imbalanced male-female ratio in Chinatown was radically worsened by the Exclusion Act, and by 1900 there were only 40 to 150 women out of over 7,000 Chinese living in Manhattan. This altered and unnatural social landscape in Chinatown led to its role as the Bachelor's Society with rumors of opium dens, prostitution, and slave girls compounding white antagonism toward the Chinese. In line with Chinese tradition and in the face of American government-sanctioned hostility and individuals, Chinatown Chinese formed their own associations and societies to protect their interests. An underground economy allowed undocumented workers to work illegally without leaving the few blocks they called home. When the Exclusion Act was finally revoked in 1943, China was given a small immigration quota and the community continued to grow, slowly expanding throughout the 1940s and, 2011.