Chi Tian Re-defines Chinatown
The young Chinese journalist highlights the new challenge of Manhattan Chinatown. But “local residents will bring a new Chinatown into the future.”
With the January 2024 publication of her journalistic video, “Saving Chinatown Roots,” Chi Tian established herself as a video journalist exploring the stories of Chinese immigrants in Lower Manhattan Chinatown. However, the video found an audience far beyond narratives of personal growth among Chinese immigrants. Through the anecdotes of interviewees from different generations, Tian’s piece formed a collective narrative revealing Chinatown as an area undergoing rapid gentrification, caught in the conflict between tradition and innovation within the local Chinese immigrant community.
Tian identifies herself as “a nomadic Chinese-Chinese” born and raised in the northernmost province of China. As a junior at New York University studying Journalism and Anthropology, she continually seeks to explore the “invisible cities” and individual diaspora stories through her 35mm lenses. For Tian, “Saving Chinatown Roots” unveiled local residents’ displaced and unsettled feelings, yet she noted, “I feel there is always a resilient power. People will not let any part of Chinatown fade away without fighting to preserve it.”
Let’s start with your piece in AM New York, “Saving Chinatown Roots.” I watched the video and found the title captured my attention. The English title says ‘roots,’ but there is also one in Chinese — “时过境不迁.” What’s the meaning behind it? It is an old Chinese phrase, saying that time has passed and the place has changed. I was freaked out the first day I returned from the interviews. Time has passed by, and people are displaced. There was a couple who owned a shop. They’ve lived there for more than 30 years. They talked about their old memories, like the places they went for cinemas and dinners when they just arrived in the U.S., their old neighbors, and even the smell of the drug stores next door. It was a mixed feeling of shock, surprise, and a little bit of sadness. But after I finished the project, I felt that time had passed, but people living there helped the community keep the culture and the connections alive. So, I added a negation word in this Chinese phrase. Time has passed, and the place hasn’t changed.
Why did you want to report about Chinatown? I started this project in a graduate-level journalism class I took. The program was in collaboration with other media companies based in New York, and I was the only Chinese person in the program. So, I chose the topic of Lower Manhattan Chinatown. And I chose how the younger generation in Chinatown has helped to rescue Chinatown by helping their family business go further into the future.
What was it like explaining why people should care about this story? It’s always important to find a more local story. And Chinatown is part of the city. It has a long history, starting with the immigration from mainland China. It has local significance. But if you pitch a story, you have to explain why it’s a story-story and why the audience wants to hear more about it. In my story, gentrification is the main issue.
Why did gentrification attract you as the main news story right now? I’m not sure if you know Dimes Square, which is located between Chinatown and the Lower East Side. That’s a super gentrified neighborhood. No one has viewed this topic from the local people’s point of view. Maybe we all know something about how the younger generation works to thrive in Chinatown. But I was trying to interview more diverse individuals.
In your video, the idea of “success” in Chinatown varies. Chole Chen leads a historical tour in Chinatown every weekend. She is trying to advertise the intriguing historical details of this place. But Paul Eng is more into the financial aspect; he innovated his family’s traditional tofu shop and wants to make his family business survive and earn more money. What’s your understanding of “success in Chinatown?” During these interviews, my opinion is similar to Paul’s. I embrace the change. Gentrification happens economically in places that are not that developed. In some moments, Chinatown has started to grow very fast. They built fancy shops and restaurants. That’s a trend. In New York City, who could even stop it? The better way is to embrace the change and document every moment, just like what Chole did, to keep the steps it takes and keep it alive. But simultaneously, we must carry things forward, reinvent and reiterate. That’s how history works. Change is not necessarily a bad thing to happen.
I went to Chinatown this Chinese New Year. I realized there were so many local Chinese food restaurants. However, many workers and restaurant managers needed help to keep up with the change. Some are old. Some are not able to speak languages other than Chinese. Paul’s success in his family restaurant might be tough to replicate. That’s totally true. Paul mentioned other shops. There is one called Nom Wah Tea Parlor. He mentioned how the low-wage and unpaid are prevalent issues and how the shop owners can fix this problem. To “fix” the gentrification, he thought we should elevate the food quality and local rent prices. With the language barrier, it’s true. Some Chinese immigrants have lived in Chinatown for 20 years and have never been outside Chinatown for their whole life. They can find their place in this little neighborhood if they can speak any Chinese dialect. But gentrification can really change their situation. What will their future be like? Paul seems prepared to embrace this change.
If you ask the younger generation this question, they may give you a totally different answer. They are more open to flowing into Western cultures. But China is a country with a long history. The conflict between tradition and innovation is always challenging for communities entrenched in a rich and significant history. How do people in Chinatown deal with this challenge? Tradition and innovation sound like two conflicting ideas. But are they? We can definitely preserve the tradition but also carry it forward. We should ask ourselves, which parts of the cultural tradition are we keeping now? You just went to Chinatown this Chinese New Year. You see, they are keeping the tradition of the celebration, which is 2,000 years old. At the same time, innovation happens. Like one of my interviewees, Cindy, she captured photos, did art with these events, and carried them forward. And Chole advertised on Instagram. They keep the traditions but also innovate how they perform them.
